Spider-Gwen: Just Another Day
by a0040pc
Summary: After the events of Spider-Verse and Tall Story Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Woman thinks that things are returning to normal. She couldn't be more wrong. Request from Davros Fan
1. Chapter 1: Flash From The Past

On the streets of New York the girl known as Gwen Stacy was still getting used to the fact that she was a costumed heroine. Under the name Spider-Woman it had become her goal to eliminate crime once and for all, one purse snatcher at a time. Her superhuman abilities which included being able to stick to walls, superhuman strength, agility and she could even create her own webbing. She also had something that she described as a spider sense which alerted her to any danger.

She didn't want to stop crime just for the fun of it. When she first picked up her superhuman abilities she had initially tried to become famous in the entertainment industry. However her good friend Peter Parker created his own serum to try and be special like her. The serum had turned him into a monster and even killed him but not before engaging in combat with Gwen. As Peter lay dying in her arms she had promised to use her abilities to help people in any way possible.

Unfortunately many people thought that Gwen was the one who had killed Peter and ever since then there had been a massive manhunt for her. On more than one occasion they had almost caught her but she was just able to slip through their fingers. One thing that she did have going for her was the fact that they didn't know that Gwen Stacy and Spider-Woman were one in the same.

There was one person who did know that Gwen was Spider-Woman and that was her father Captain George Stacy who at one point had even been at the head of the taskforce which was tasked with capturing her. Since he found out the truth he has tried to explain to his superiors that the costumed vigilante Spider-Woman was no threat. Unfortunately his pleas had fallen onto deaf ears as the search for her continued.

Things had gotten somewhat odd for her recently. She had been exposed to a compound which had turned her into a sixteen foot giant but the experience hadn't been all bad. She had seen the world from a new perspective and she had gained a new ally. This was one of the founding members of the Avengers. Her name was Doctor Janet Van Dyne who went under the codenames Wasp and Giant-Woman. After the whole experience Gwen had even been given a gift, it was a vial which would allow her to grow to sixty feet tall for around half an hour. Gwen had decided to keep it on her person as Spider-Woman just in case she truly needed it. It would be her ace in the hole if she was ever overpowered and there was no other way out.

Since then Gwen had gone through some other crazy things that were so fantastical that if she told anyone they would think that she was losing her mind. Instead for now she merely kept it to herself. She was even part of a band called the Mary Janes but if she told them about her secret she didn't know what would happen. They would probably think it was some kind of joke but after the realisation had set in they would discover that their drummer was none other than Spider-Woman. She thought that they were likely to call the police and then all hell would likely break loose.

On this day Gwen wasn't out fighting crime as Spider-Woman or practicing with her band. Instead she was taking a much needed rest, for the last several weeks straight she had been out stopping crime and making sure people were safe. It had taken its toll on her body and she really needed some rest and relaxation.

Gwen had decided to walk to a nearby mall to do some shopping, her father's birthday was coming up and she wanted to give him a special present. She knew that he loved her dearly but since her mother died some years before there had always been a low level sadness in him since then. He would tell her that she looked exactly like her mother with her long blond hair and piercing green eyes. She did wonder what her mother would have thought about her being a superheroine if she had known.

Despite the fact that this was Gwen's day off from being Spider-Woman she always made sure that she had her costume with her just in case anything happened. Which unfortunately for her seemed to be most of the time. Practically every time she had gone out to do something that she considered normal she would spot some kind of crime in progress. More than once she had considered just letting the offender do whatever they pleased but it would be breaking the promise that she made to Peter.

There was one other thing that was on Gwen's mind and that was the fact that she wasn't feeling one hundred percent. For the last few days she had been feeling off with some kind of illness but she couldn't particularly put her finger on what was wrong. Since gaining her superhuman abilities she had become somewhat resistant to diseases. She wasn't completely immune from them but she was certainly a lot more resistant than she was before. She knew that it was a cold and she had been taking a couple of pills to try and make her feel better but if anything she was feeling worse.

Regardless of how she felt Gwen had a mission while at the mall. Her father's birthday was coming up soon and she wanted to buy him a gift. She wanted to get him something very nice after everything that had happened and she was determined to find the perfect gift for him. However she planned to go around and find a few things for herself, summer was right around the corner and she wanted to pick out some more summer wear.

Gwen had been shopping around for about an hour before retiring to the food court for some much needed nourishment. She had discovered that over the last couple of weeks she needed to eat more than she normally did. She didn't know whether it was because of her powers or her recent size changes that had caused her appetite to increase. Either way she knew that she needed to eat.

In her need to satisfy her hunger Gwen bought enough burgers and fries to easily feed two people. She felt somewhat guilty for buying so much food but she was so hungry that she had no choice but to do this. She just hoped that her increased appetite would pass and she would go back to her old way. She did sit down at a free table and she just hoped that she wouldn't have to get up and do any superhero business any time soon.

"Gwen?" said a female voice. This had come as a surprise to Gwen who was just about to take her first bite out of a burger and she looked around to try and find who had just called her. It didn't take her long to see a particularly familiar face, it was someone that she had known from school. Her name was Lizzie McKay who had long fair hair and blue eyes, the most striking thing about this girl was her height which was around six foot three. Gwen had known her for some time and she had actually been short at one point but then had the mother of all growth spurts to land her at this height. She had been part of the school basketball team but had decided not to pursue the career afterwards. Instead she wanted to have a more normal job that took more brains than athleticism. She had always been a fairly stylish girl and went out of her way to get the latest in fashionable clothing. This proved difficult sometimes due to her height but she found her ways.

"Oh hi Lizzie," replied Gwen as she was being nice. She didn't know Lizzie all that well but from what she had heard she a nice girl. She had been somewhat caught by surprise and she was thinking on her feet.

"You don't mind if I take a seat?" Lizzie had a smile on her face and Gwen could see her pearly white teeth. It almost seemed superhuman that someone could keep their teeth like that without surgery.

"No go on." She was still thinking on her feet and she didn't want to be rude to the girl so she accepted her invitation. She watched as Lizzie pulled a chair and sat herself down, it was a relief for Gwen as she didn't have to look up at her much anymore. Lizzie could see that there was a lot of food on the table and she thought that maybe there was someone else that Gwen was waiting for.

"Are you waiting for someone?" She had a somewhat confused look upon her face as she looked at the food on the table.

"Why do you ask that?" There was some confusion in Gwen's voice and when she saw Lizzie pointing to the food on the table she instantly realised what she was talking about. "Oh, no I don't." She felt a little embarrassed about this and tried to make it seem normal. "I was just really hungry and I had a bit of spare money so I thought, what the heck?" She gave Lizzie a pleasant smile as she hoped that she had just saved herself from a small amount of embarrassment.

"I know what you mean." She smiled in response as she had experienced something similar. "When I was going through my growth spurt I was eating like it was going out of fashion." She laughed a little because she still couldn't believe how much food she had eaten during that time.

"Hopefully I'm not experiencing a growth spurt, I'm tall enough already." She laughed somewhat nervously as well as she remembered her time as a giant recently and how she would probably never complain about being too tall ever. "So what brings you here anyway?"

"Some of the stores are having sales and I wanted to take advantage. Besides I thought it was time for me to get a new wardrobe."

The two women sat there for a few minutes talking to one another. They talked about several things ranging from the Mary Janes to what was happening on a couple of reality TV shows. It all seemed normal to Gwen until noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked at it more in focus and she could see someone who had a striking resemblance to her deceased friend Peter Parker.

Quickly Gwen stood up from the table and quickly moved towards where she had seen Peter and for the moment she had lost sight of him. Although he did look like Peter she had noticed a few differences, the first was that he didn't look like his nerdy self. He had been wearing what she would have called designer clothing and a stylish haircut. He had some amount of stubble on his face as well.

However when Gwen reached where he had been standing she looked around and she couldn't spot him. Her sight was superior to most humans thanks to her spider abilities but she couldn't spot him. There was a sea of people around her and she couldn't pick him out at all. She began to think that it might have been someone with a striking resemblance to him and that it was merely a coincidence.

Having to admit defeat Gwen walked back to where Lizzie was already sitting and the taller girl looked at her in confusion. Gwen had only given her a small statement when she stood up from the table and she wanted to know what just happened. It had been a strange occurrence to say the least.

"What was all that about?" asked Lizzie. She could see that Gwen was in a somewhat dazed state.

"I just thought I saw someone that I knew," replied Gwen. She had eaten most of her food at this point but was continuing to talk to her friend. Her voice seemed to be somewhat distant as she recounted her experience. "Turned out to be a dud."

"Are you alright?" Lizzie did show some concern as she saw that Gwen didn't seem to be the same as she was just a few moments before.

"Yeah I'm fine, believe me I can imagine much worse things happening to me." This was true in more ways than Lizzie could imagine, after Gwen's career as Spider-Woman she had seen and experienced things that not many could imagine. She had fought against her best friend who had turned himself into a giant lizard, travelled to different realities and met numerous alternate versions of Peter Parker and she still had New York's finest still trying to capture her.

"That's good but if you need to talk just give me a call and we can talk for as long as we need to." She was a genuinely nice person as she didn't have a bad bone in her body. Gwen felt that she was probably someone who in the future she could become friends with but she knew that it would be a risk. She wanted to keep her loved ones as far away from her Spider-Woman persona as possible.

Not too long after that Gwen continued her shopping and returned home but she still couldn't get the image of what she saw out of her head. She still couldn't figure out if what she had seen was really her dead friend Peter Parker or if she had just been imagining it. She still felt tremendous guilt for what had happened since if she hadn't acquired her superhuman abilities he would have still been alive. This was something that she was having to live with for the rest of her life.

To try and take her mind of things that night Gwen did decide to put on her superheroine costume and go out into the night as Spider-Woman. When she was feeling somewhat down stopping crooks and helping the weak did make her feel better and it would make the world around her that little bit simpler.

Gwen knew that every time she put on her Spider-Woman costume that she wouldn't be coming back. One of several things could happen, the first would be that the police would finally catch her, the second was that some crook could get lucky and be able to shoot her, the third was if one of her villains finally gained the upper hand and took her down. There were many more things that could happen but she knew that although there were risks there were also numerous benefits. The main one was that she would be able to help those in need and make the streets safer for everyone.

For the next few hours Spider-Woman patrolled the streets from the air and was on the lookout for any mischievous activity. If there was one thing she could count on with New York City it was the fact that some crook was always up to no good. It could range from so many different crimes that her mind couldn't comprehend. Either way it meant that she had someone to punch.

On this night there seemed to be nothing happening. She had been patrolling for hours and she hadn't seen anything that even resembled a crime. She thought that at the very least she would have seen a bag snatcher but tonight there wasn't even a pickpocket that she could apprehend. This only added to her annoyance and in the end she web-swinged her way to the top of a building and then looked down at the world below her. She sat on the edge but she didn't fear about falling off or anything like that. Her ability to stick to any surface was one advantage of her spider abilities.

"Oh god this is so boring," said Spider-Woman to herself. "The one night I want some action there's nothing. I wonder if this is God's way of punishing me for some kind of misdeed. I swear there was no label on that cookie." She suddenly stopped herself when she heard the distinct sound of police sirens. It always made her feel nervous when she heard them because it would mean that the police were once again chasing after her.

Spider-Woman looked down and saw the speeding cop car drive passed her. She was too high up to be seen anyway but she thought that whatever it was responding to would give her the action that she wanted. She also knew that there was a risk of getting caught but she still felt that she should help.

With that Spider-Woman dropped from where she was sitting and began to swing towards the speeding cop car. She made sure to keep some distance away from it and also not to get too low. At the speed that it was travelling she knew that it was something big and she just hoped that it was something that she could help out with. A bank robbery would be ideal but even just a streaker would do at this point in time.

Spider-Woman only needed to follow the cop car for a few minutes before it arrived at its destination. She saw that there were several more cop cars there and they were all parked outside of a moderately tall building but what they were responding to wasn't a crime in progress. Instead Spider-Woman could see a man standing on top of the building and from what he could see he was in a panicky state.

Spider-Woman didn't need to be a genius to figure out that what she was seeing was a man who was attempting to commit suicide. Rather than jumping into the situation right away she decided to hang back for a few moments and watch what was taking place. It was definitely a situation that had to be handled very gingerly. One false move and the man who likely jump to his death.

Despite what was happening Spider-Woman still felt an uneasiness inside of her but it was not because of what was happening. The illness that she had been suffering from was slowly becoming worse. She didn't feel like she was going to throw up or anything like that, she just felt an odd feeling in her body. She would take some more medication when she returned home but for now she would just have to put up with it.

After a few minutes of watching Spider-Woman had noticed that nothing had changed in the situation below her. If anything the man seemed to be more likely to jump and she knew that she would have to step in or else his life would come to an end. She knew that there was a risk of her being caught but it was a risk that she was willing to take.

Carefully Spider-Woman made her way to the top of the building and she made sure that she wasn't spotted by the police. She did consider just webbing the suicidal man up and then taking him safely to the ground but she didn't think that it would solve anything. He would just go and do it all over again unless he came out of the depression which had caused him to be in this situation in the first place.

After climbing up onto the top of the building Spider-Woman was still a few metres away from the man and for the moment she thought that it was for the best. For now he had not noticed her and she just stated a simple greeting and quickly he turned around to her. He was in complete shock and if anything now he was in an even higher state of panic. He was still very close to the edge and could fall at any time.

"W-who are you?" asked the man. His body was shaking thanks to a combination of fear and adrenaline.

"My name is Spider-Woman and I'm here to help you," replied Spider-Woman. She put on a pleasant voice so she seemed to be as least threatening as possible. She needed to take great care and although she knew that unmasking herself would make him calmer she didn't want to risk her secret identity yet.

"Stay back!" His words were sharp and panicked but Spider-Woman was still a safe enough distance away from him.

"It's alright I won't hurt you." She made sure to keep the distance that was required from him. "I know that you might be going through a tough time right now but believe me things will be better."

"That's easy for you to say. I've lost everything, my home, my wife, my children, my job. Everything!" It was easy for him to just take a step back and end his life there and then but for the moment he wouldn't.

"So your life might be in tatters now but it doesn't mean that it'll always be like that. You will be able to turn it around and build your life back up to what it once was. You even say that you have children, do you really want them to grow up without their father around them." She took a small sigh and she knew that she would have to reveal a small detail about herself but she hoped that it would be for the better. "I lost one of my parents while I was growing up and believe me it was hard. They died because of an illness but if had been a suicide I wouldn't know how I would have reacted. I would probably think that it was my fault for some reason. I would think that the reason for their suicide would have been something I had done. To tell you the truth I wouldn't wish that on any child, I don't think you'd like to wish it on yours would you?"

"N-No I wouldn't." Spider-Woman saw this as a good sign since it showed that what she was saying was actually getting through to him.

"See now why don't you just come with me and I'll safely take you back down to the ground." She thought that she had finally won this little confrontation and in the best way possible.

"No you're a murderer, I'm not going anywhere with you!" His voice became aggressive and it was directed right at her. "I've read about you, you killed Peter Parker in cold blood. You're a monster."

"Don't believe everything that you read." She was somewhat annoyed but she masked it as best as she could. Any kind of aggression at this point would not be taken lightly by the suicidal man. "I don't care if you believe that I killed Peter Parker which I didn't. All I care about is getting you back down to safety." She could see that he was still reluctant and she knew that she had to try better. She held out her hand towards him and even took a step forwards. "Take my hand and I promise I'll get you back down safely, all I need you to do is trust me. I don't care if you hate me for the rest of your natural life but right now I'm your best route to safety."

There were a few moments where absolutely nothing happened as the man decided whether he was going to jump from the building or allow Spider-Woman to take him down to safety. He didn't really feel that safe either way but Spider-Woman had done nothing that made him think that she would harm him. He had read in the newspapers and watched the news about her, they all stated that she was a menace but actually seeing her face to face like this made him think that there was something more to her. Despite everything she was still trying to help him when he was at his lowest point in life.

The man gently grabbed onto Spider-Woman's hand and she smiled underneath her mask. She saw that she had won his trust but she knew that she would have to have a firmer grip on him to be able to take him back down to the ground. She grabbed a hold of his waist and he did become somewhat panicked although he was perfectly safe in Spider-Woman's grip. She might not look it but she was more than strong enough to lift a car over her head with ease although there were plenty of superhumans with more strength than her.

"Ok this might get a little bumpy," said Spider-Woman. "But believe me it's a lot of fun." Her voice was bubbly and she hoped that it would calm the man down enough for what she was about to do.

Spider-Woman quickly ran to the edge of the building and at the speed she was running it seemed impossible that she was going to stop in time. She had lifted the man off of his feet so that they didn't drag while she ran. He began to scream as he thought that they were going over edge and falling to their dooms. Instead of falling her feet began to stick to the wall of the building. There was a gasp from the people below who thought that they were going to fall but instead they saw Spider-Woman running down the building as if she was running on perfectly straight ground.

It only took Spider-Woman a few seconds to run down to the ground to the police who were already down there. They were in shock over what had just happened and they didn't know really how to react. They watched her let go of the man when they were on the ground, he had been able to land on his feet and although he was shook up he seemed to be fine. His life had not come to an end that day.

"Here you go guys," said Spider-Woman to the police who were standing there. They were in such a state of shock that they hadn't even pulled out their guns. "Be gentle with him, he's sensitive."

With that Spider-Woman shot out a string of webbing at a nearby building and began to web-swing herself away. The police considered firing at her but she had just saved a man's life and for that many of them were going to give her a free pass this time. They would just make sure that their superiors didn't find out.

Spider-Woman swung on her webbing for a few minutes to create more room between her and the police. When she thought that she was far enough away she finally stopped so that she could catch her breath. What had just happened was one of the reasons why she had become a superheroine in the first place. She had helped that man when he had needed it the most. She thought that the police might have been able to have handled the situation but that was a grey area in her mind. All that she knew was that the man was alive and she hoped that he would be able to turn his life around.

By then it was late and even Spider-Woman had to admit that she was feeling tired. Despite her powers she was not immune to fatigue and plus she had a full day of band practice the next day. She had been somewhat thinking about cancelling the practice due to her not feeling one hundred percent but she thought that she could manage through it. She had endured much worse in the past and she thought that she would be able to handle this light illness.

In the end Spider-Woman landed in an alley not too far away from where she lived and first she made sure that no one was around. A check like that only took a moment but when she was sure that she was alone she changed out of her costume and to the world at large she was merely Gwen Stacy once again.

After changing back into her normal clothes Gwen began the relatively short walk back to her house which she shared with her father. She knew that the streets were not entirely safe, especially at this time of night but she was more than capable of looking out for herself. She remembered being afraid in the past but now she was as cool as a cucumber when it came to walking the streets alone.

There was a cool breeze which blew through the air and it sent a shiver down Gwen's spine. It was cooler than she had expected and it made her want to get home even more and just crawl into her nice warm bed that was waiting for her. She did have to make sure that she didn't wake her father who would most likely still be asleep.

Soon enough Gwen arrived at her home and carefully opened the door. The home seemed to be in complete darkness but as soon as she closed the door behind her a light came on and she could see her father sitting down on a chair. He was quite a tall man with short white hair and a short beard. From the clothing he was wearing it seemed that he hadn't even gone to bed. His sudden appearance shocked Gwen but her spider sense had not warned her because technically he wasn't a threat.

"Dad?" her speech had been quickened since she had been caught by surprise. This as certainly something that she wasn't expecting when she had entered the home. She could tell that he wasn't impressed with her. "What are you still doing up?"

"Waiting for you," replied George. He remained where he was sitting but there was a small amount of anger in his voice. "I still can't believe that you're going out as Spider-Woman even though you know you're the city's most wanted person. What would possess you to do something like that?"

"Because people need my help dad." She felt like she was doing the right thing and would defend herself until she was blue in the mouth if need be. "I couldn't help Peter when he needed me the most and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make up for that. Even if I get captured in the process I would still be happy that I helped people."

"Gwen I respect what you're doing but no matter how many people you save you'll never bring back Peter. He's gone Gwen and there is nothing that neither you nor I can do to change that. Every time you go out there as Spider-Woman I fear that I'll have a phone call telling me that you've been captured." He took a small sigh before continuing on. "From now on no more Spider-Woman young lady."


	2. Chapter 2: Dreams and Reality

Gwen stood there for a few moments as she fully sunk in what her father had just told her. He was forbidding her to be Spider-Woman even though he knew how much she helped people. She knew that her father wasn't doing it out of spite or malice, he was doing it because he loved her and he was worried about her. Spider-Woman was a wanted vigilante and he didn't want to see his daughter rot in prison.

"But Dad I can't stop being Spider-Woman," said Gwen as she tried to defend her reason for being Spider-Woman. She knew the risks and she was more than willing to take it. "There are so many people counting on me."

"And do you think these people are thankful?" replied George Stacy in a somewhat angered voice. He was really putting his foot down on the matter. "How many people have you saved that still call you a menace?" He wanted to hammer the fact that people still believed she was a murderer despite the good that she had done. "And I know that the police will not stop until you are caught and unmasked. It doesn't matter how many people you save, they will always be coming for you."

"I've run into the police on more than one occasion and each time I've managed to get away. Ok I admit that a few times have been harder than others but it was nothing I couldn't handle." One of the latest times that she had escaped was thanks to Doctor Janet Van Dyne who had shrunk her and was able to sneak her away while the police believed that she had fled elsewhere.

"That's what worries me. You may have gotten away the other times but one day your luck will run out and if the police see that their tactics aren't working they'll change it and worse still they will resort to more drastic measures." Being a police captain himself George knew exactly how the police force worked and that only made him that much more terrified of Gwen being captured. "That's why you're not going to be Spider-Woman ever again, the risks are too great."

"No Dad I have to keep going." Despite everything that George was saying Gwen wasn't listening. "I let down Peter when he really needed me and I will not do that to anyone else." The fact that she had failed her best friend was her driving force and every time she put on the mask she would think of him and how he had turned himself into a monster to try and be special like her.

"I know that you're trying to make up for Peter God rest his soul but enough is enough. If you keep this up I'll have no choice but to turn you in." He wasn't sure himself if this was just an idle threat or a genuine promise. "Since I lost your mother you've all I have of her and I will not lose you. I promised that much to her."

Gwen could see tears in her father's eyes. Although it had been some years since his wife had died it was still as fresh in his mind as if it had happened yesterday. The two had been unseparated until her death, before then he had seemed to be a much happier man but now there was something empty inside of him. When looked at Gwen he could see his wife and for that reason he wanted to protect her any way that he could.

It was a tense moment but Gwen could see that her father was only thinking about her. She felt that she was incredibly lucky that he hadn't turned her in the moment he had discovered that she and Spider-Woman were one in the same. He had been the one tasked with bringing her down, he had a duty as an upholder of the law to take her in. The fact that he had turned a blind eye went against his honour as an officer of the law. It had eaten away more at his integrity than Gwen could even imagine.

"Ok dad I'll stop," said Gwen with a saddened voice. "For you I'll hang up my costume and retire Spider-Woman." She knew that she would be giving up a lot but for her father she was willing to walk into hell for him.

"Nothing would make me happier Gwen," replied George as he embraced his daughter in a hug. It felt like an enormous weight had been taken off of his shoulders. He didn't know how long it would last but all he cared about was that Gwen had agreed to hang up her costume for good.

Later Gwen was up in her room and trying to get some much needed sleep but she couldn't really close her eyes. Her mind was racing with too many different things to be even close to falling asleep. Not only was she thinking about whether she should have retired as Spider-Woman but she was also thinking about Peter. She knew that she wasn't going crazy when she saw him at the mall. She had seen enough versions of Peter Parker to know what he looked like and she was more than convinced that it was him.

She didn't find it too outlandish that she might have seen some form of Peter. Shortly after Gwen revealed her secret identity to her father she had been recruited into a battle with many different Spider-Men against a clan of vampire like beings who wanted to destroy every Spider-Man in every reality. During this time Gwen partnered up with so many different Peter Parkers that the whole thing seemed to get silly. Nonetheless she discovered that many of the Spider-Men that she had fought alongside had lost their own version of Gwen in their home realities.

When Gwen had thought about alternate realities she assumed that in most of them she would also have her spider abilities but she saw no other Gwen Stacy. Almost all of the alternate Spider-People she had teamed up with were variations of Peter which made her think that he should have been bitten by the radioactive spider and not her. She thought that he would still be alive by now.

She still wondered if the Peter Parker she saw in the mall was real or a figment of her imagination. Despite everything that happened she still felt an enormous amount of regret for what happened to him. His confidence had been so low that he had created the serum to try and strengthen himself and be like her. The serum did work but turned him into a monster which ultimately killed him.

It was for that reason that Gwen gave up trying to use her powers to make herself rich and instead concentrated on using them to help people. It was one reason why she considered going back on her word and become Spider-Woman once again. However she didn't want to break her promise to her father who had always been there for her when she needed it the most. He had risked so much for her and to throw it back in his face like that was more disrespectful than anything else that Gwen could do to him.

One last thing that Gwen had on her mind was that she still wasn't feeling too well. Since receiving her abilities she noticed that she recovered from illnesses and injuries faster than she did before. Not too long ago she came down with a cold which would normally take her close to a week to recover from. This time she only needed a couple of days before she had fully recovered from it.

This aliment that she was suffering from seemed to be different from ones she had previously suffered. It wasn't at the forefront like other illnesses, this one seemed to be more in the background. She did consider going to see a doctor about it but she wasn't sure whether it could compromise her secret identity. She did consider going to see Doctor Janet Van Dyne since she knew that she would be confidential about it.

Slowly Gwen did drift into an uneasy sleep and once again she would have a busy day tomorrow. She still had more band practice with the Mary Janes and there were even talks that they were going to record a demo to send off to record companies. If the band took off it would give Gwen another reason to stop being Spider-Woman.

As Gwen drifted out of reality she found herself in the fuzzy world of her dreams. She had no idea that she was in a dream and she just acted as if everything was normal. She was swinging through the streets of New York as Spider-Woman and right now everything seemed to be going great. She could feel the breeze hit her face while she web swung and she could see a group of stereotypical crooks down below. They were trying to break into a bank but before they could get very far Spider-Woman landed right between them and the doors. Each of them were wearing masks and armed with a crowbar. There were around half a dozen of them and they all had identical builds.

"Hey don't you know the banks close at five o'clock?" asked Spider-Woman in a sarcastic tone. She saw that they all started to run towards her with their crowbars firmly gripped in their hands. She could see that they meant her harm but underneath her masked she simply smiled at them. "Oh so you want to play it that way?"

The first crook went to strike her with his crowbar but she was able to jump over it and strike him in the face. Rather than taking her on one by one the crooks began to gang up on her, they hoped that their numbers would overwhelm her but this wasn't the case as she easily held their own against them.

Spider-Woman's moves were so fast that it was hard for anyone to see as she took down each of the crooks with a combination of punches, kicks and web attacks. Each time a crook tried to strike her she would dodge out of the way of the attack with ease and respond with her own attack.

Within less than a minute of her landing Spider-Woman had taken down all six of the crooks without a single one of them landing a strike on her. She rubbed her hands together as if she was trying to remove some dirt and the smile on her face only grew as she squatted down to one of the knocked out crooks. She felt that she had earned her victory and recently she had been watching a lot of luchador wrestling. In those matches the loser had his mask removed by the victor. Since all of them were wearing masks she saw that it was fit to do the same.

"Ok let's see who you really are behind that mask," said Spider-Woman as she grabbed onto the first crook's mask and quickly pulled it off. She was expecting to see the face of some brute with a scar or two but the truth shocked her much more. The smile underneath her mask had completely disappeared when she saw the face of the crook. His face was youthful and somehow he was wearing glasses. He also had short brown hair and a somewhat slim build to it. Not only that but part of his face was covered in green scales. Even in this dream she instantly recognised him as her friend Peter Parker moments before he died in her arms. The shock of seeing this instantly made her stand up and she took a few steps back. "Peter?" Her voice was distant and very confused.

Quickly Spider-Woman went to the unconscious bodies of the other crooks and removed their masks. Each time the results were the same as each of them had the face of Peter Parker and this only caused her to feel even more terror. All of them were identical in every detail and this only added to Spider-Woman's grief.

"No this is impossible," said Spider-Woman in horror. The joy and confidence she had just experienced was completely gone leaving behind this empty shell of a woman for all to see. "You can't be him."

"Why did you let me die Gwen?" replied one of the crooks as he slowly rose to his feet. He had a blank stare which went right through her.

"I didn't mean to." She took a few more steps back as she wanted to distance herself from the situation.

"I wanted to be special like you," said another of the crooks as he got back up to his feet. As expected his voice was identical to that of the first crook which was the same as Peter's. "You were the one who caused it."

"No I didn't." It sounded more like she was in denial rather than anything else. "I tried to help you." She took several more steps back but she felt herself come into contact with the door of the bank. The terror she was experiencing was insurmountable as she saw the other crooks begin to get up.

"I trusted you," replied all of the crooks. They had purposely spoken at the exact same time which only creeped her out even more. "You let me die."

Spider-Woman was completely speechless as she watched the crooks walking towards her. Each of them performed the exact same movements at the exact same time. This only added to the weirdness factor along with Spider-Woman's overall fear. She couldn't back up any further and all thoughts of escape were replaced by those of panic.

Just as the crooks were about to grab her Gwen finally woke up and discovered that she was still in her bed. This was a great relief for her as she realised what she had experienced was just a dream. It did give her reason to think though as she thought the dream was trying to tell her something besides trying to scare her. She thought that it was telling her that if she gave up being Spider-Woman a lot more people like Peter would be harmed. She also thought it was her guilty conscience taking her down a peg or two as well.

This was when Gwen finally looked at a nearby clock and discovered that she was running late for band practice. In somewhat of a panic she quickly got out of bed and got herself washed and changed. Rather than picking out an outfit that looked the best she quickly picked one that was fast enough to put on. This included a t-shirt, short jeans and a pair of sneakers. She also loaded her backpack with items such as a bottle of water and her favourite drumsticks. One thing that she did consider taking with her was her Spider-Woman costume. Since becoming the costumed superheroine she had taken her costume wherever she went purely in case she needed it which was more often than not.

Gwen did have to think long and hard for a few moments as to whether she should take the costume with her or not. She wanted to take it so that she could help a person in need as Spider-Woman but she also remembered the promise that she made her father. He had been through so much for her that going back on her word like this would be a slap to his face. She respected more than any other man in her life and for that reason she decided to leave the costume behind.

Quickly Gwen made her way downstairs where she saw her father having a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. He saw her come into the kitchen and the speed that she was moving was somewhat of a surprise for him. He could clearly see that she was in a rush but had no idea why. He just saw her go into a nearby cupboard and pick out a breakfast bar that she could eat on the way.

"Hey where are you going in such a rush?" asked George as he watched her open the bar and take a couple of bites out of it.

"I'm late for band practice," replied Gwen after she swallowed what was in her mouth. "And you know how MJ is when I'm late." There was one thing that she respected about Mary Jane Watson and that was that she was determined to reach her goals. But unfortunately she was somewhat lacking when it came to people skills. She was the leader of the Mary Janes which was even named after her and sometimes she would allow her leadership to go to her head.

"I better not keep you waiting then. But have you left your costume behind." At this point he gave her a stern look.

"No I left it upstairs dad, you don't have to worry."

"Hmm." He had been close to Gwen from the moment she was born and he instinctively knew when she was telling the truth and when she was lying. There were minor movements in her body which would tell him whether she was lying or not. From what he could see he hadn't seen any of these subtle movements so this convinced him that his daughter was telling him the truth. "Ok then, just remember to concentrate on what you're doing, you don't want MJ to shout at you again."

"Ok dad I'll see you later."

With that Gwen walked out of the door and her father looked over for a few moments. He was glad that she was actually keeping her word for now about the business with Spider-Woman. It showed him that she still had some respect for him but he did wonder if she would keep it indefinitely or if it was only a matter of time. He didn't want to think about it and just wanted to continue eating his breakfast.

After several minutes of travelling Gwen found herself outside a large warehouse. She had to take a couple of buses to reach where she wanted to be. Thankfully it wasn't as run down as some of the other warehouses that she had visited as Spider-Woman. Those ones were purposely used by crooks who wanted to make a quick buck and hide things that they didn't want the police to see.

The warehouse was owned by the father of Glory Grant who was an accomplished businessman and owned several warehouses across the city. It was an ideal place for the Mary Janes to practice and there was even a drum set which was set up there for Gwen. Her main drum set remained at home this secondary set was just as good as her own.

As Gwen entered she saw the other members of the Mary Janes practicing without her. They were not performing a particular song but instead getting their instruments ready for the practice. She saw Mary Jane Watson preparing her voice while Glory Grant and Betty Brant prepared their own instruments.

Gwen's arrival hadn't gone unnoticed by the others as Mary Jane in particular stopped what she was doing and looked over at her. She had her hands on her hips and she didn't seem to be that impressed. Gwen knew she was in for a telling off since Mary Jane was that kind of person. She was definitely the leader of the band and she acted as if she was the chairman of a company.

"You're late again Gwen," said Mary Jane as she saw Gwen walking towards her drum set. The other two women had also stopped when they heard Mary Jane talking, they knew what would happen if they continued to play while she was talking. "Somehow I'm not surprised, what is it this time? Traffic, a natural disaster?"

"No I-I just overslept," replied Gwen. She knew not to get into any kind of argument with her since it would be counterproductive to the band. She had thought a couple of times about walking away from the band because of Mary Jane. "I'm sorry I had a really funky dream last night and it kind of knocked me around a little."

"The only dream that you should be concentrating is ours to become a signed band and actually doing this for a living." She was completely focused on this dream and she would go to great lengths to ensure that it came true.

"Ok whatever." She didn't want to say about what happened in her own dream because the other members of the band would probably think that she was crazy. It might even lead them to realise that she was Spider-Woman.

"Stay focused Stacy, if just one of us is out of key the entire dream could completely fall through." She was demonstrating how she was in charge of the band and how she was at the forefront of this so called dream. "Now I think we should practice 'Up In The Clouds.' That's definitely one of our songs that definitely needs some work."

The others groaned a little but they did what they were told. The song began with a drum beat so Gwen began the drumming as she others began on their cues. Within a few seconds the entire group were working together to perform the song. Unfortunately like Mary Jane had said it was not their best song and it definitely needed a lot of work. After the first play through they began to discuss minor ways that the song could be improved which included a longer intro and a few changes to the lyrics. Mary Jane was the one who had written the lyrics and although she was reluctant to change any lyrics she wrote she was willing to listen to reason. She felt that all of her other songs were great and she accepted that even the best songwriters write a dud every now and again.

This continued on for about an hour until the band eventually produced the song that actually sounded half decent. The other members were happy with it but not Mary Jane yet, she felt that there was still work which needed to be done. She wouldn't be happy unless she was convinced that it was the best song the band had ever made. That was something that was going to be very difficult.

Eventually the band did decide to take a break and they ordered some pizza to enjoy. Unfortunately for Gwen she was a little strapped for cash so Glory just paid her share of the pizza and just told Gwen to pay back later. At least the flavour of the pizza was something that they could all agree on. They were sitting on the ground around the pizza and they spoke while they ate. For once while they spoke Mary Jane wasn't mentioning Gwen's lateness but rather how the band was going to be a success.

"Believe me this time next year we'll be topping the charts and raking in so much cash we'll have to bury it," said Mary Jane as she was very confident that the Mary Janes were going to be the next big thing.

"Best not get ahead of ourselves," replied Betty. Where Mary Jane had her head in the clouds Betty always thought with a clear head. "We might have some notoriety thanks to that big guy trashing one of our concerts but we can't expect that to carry us over into worldwide success."

"No but it's a start. Today we might be practicing in a warehouse but tomorrow it can be in a recording studio and the next on stage in front of thousands upon thousands of people screaming out name." It was obvious to all of them that Mary Jane had been thinking about this for a long time. She had been dreaming of being a musical sensation for as long as she could remember and she felt that she was close to achieving this dream.

"When did you say we've got that whole meeting?" asked Gwen. She remembered that Mary Jane wanted to record a demo so that they could send them off to major music labels. "Something about a demo?"

"Oh that, my cousin works in a recording studio and he says that we can record a demo there. Then we send them off and before we know it we'll have producers climbing over themselves to sign us." She was still living in her own little dream, she made it sound like they were going to be the greatest band ever. The others knew that they might be a good band but they didn't entirely expect superstardom, not like Mary Jane did.

"Lucky for us then." Gwen took another bite out of the pizza before she talked on. "Maybe we could add a little bit of finesse into our concerts. You know something more memorable for the audience."

"Like what?" replied Betty. She stated this in a curious tone which meant that she genuinely wanted to know what Gwen was talking about.

"Well I've heard of this singer called Alison Blaire who basically has a light show with every concert. I've heard that she's not the best singer in the world but people are drawn to her just to watch the lightshows. I don't know exactly how it works but it definitely gets her more ticket sales. I've even heard that some people are starting to call her the Dazzler." She thought it was a pretty silly name which was meant more for someone who was around during the disco era.

"You might be on to something there," replied Mary Jane. She was thinking as she spoke as she felt that Gwen had come up with a good idea. "Maybe there is something we can add to make our concerts a little more memorable. Well besides that guy that one time, it might cost us a little more but if we get more ticket sales then it'll all be worth it." She was still thinking about how the band could make as much money as they could. This was something that would be very difficult to achieve but she believed that she and the other women possessed the talent to make it happen.

"We could have pyrotechnics," said Betty. "But of course they're quite dangerous." She had read how other bands had used pyrotechnics in their concerts and there had been a few accidents.

"Or maybe some kind of mascot," stated Glory who was giving the thought considerable situation. "A few bands have mascots and most of the time the mascots become even more recognisable than the band itself."

"No that won't work," replied Mary Jane. She really didn't like the idea of something like a mascot becoming more famous than them. "If we want to be famous we need to ensure that it's for us and not for some stupid mascot."

Gwen was listening carefully to the discussion but she did begin to feel sick. The illness that she had been suffering from for the last few days seemed to be flaring up. She felt that she was going to bring the pizza back up and she definitely didn't want to do that in front of her bandmates. She began to look around fairly quickly but she couldn't see where the restroom was located.

"Hey Glory where's the bathroom in this place?" asked Gwen as she looked around a little for a few moments.

"Just over there," replied Glory who pointed to a door in the corner of the warehouse. "Go straight through that door and you won't miss it."

"Thanks."

Quickly Gwen got to her feet and moved towards the door which had the much needed restroom. With every step she took her need to throw up only increased and almost as soon as she reached her destination she felt the pizza coming back up but thankfully she was able to get it all in the toilet. It was not a very pleasant feeling but it did make her feel a little better when she had gotten it all out.

It was only then that Gwen began to look around in the room around her and she noticed that it was far from clean. She could see grim and dirt everywhere and if she hadn't felt sick before she would have certainly felt sick now. The rest of the warehouse had been relatively clean but now her opinion of it seemed to change immediately.

There was something else that Gwen could feel as well. It was a gnawing feeling in her head and it wasn't a headache. By now she recognised this feeling as her spider sense trying to tell her something. She began to take a better look around to see if she could see what was setting it off but she couldn't see anything. She knew that something like uncleanliness wasn't going to be setting off her spider sense like this and she figured that it must have been something else, something that meant harm.

"Hey Gwen are you alright in there?" asked Betty. She raised her voice so that Gwen could hear her and so that she didn't have to move from where she was sitting.

"Y-yeah I'm fine," replied Gwen. She felt the gnawing sensation of her spider sense begin to fade away which she thought meant that whatever she was sensing was most likely gone. "I just needed a minute."

"Good, we're starting again in a minute. Are you still up for it?"

"Yeah I'll be there in a second."

Gwen took another quick look around before moving out of the restroom. She had never known her spider sense to warn her of danger that had never been there in the first place. She definitely thought that she would have to keep her eye out for anything that could be dangerous. The only thing that she considered to be dangerous was Mary Jane if she kept her waiting there any longer. She quickly finished up and began to walk back to the band and her faithful drum kit. She didn't realise that true danger did lurk just around the corner and that she would need all of her skills to survive it.


	3. Chapter 3: The Other Peter Parker

The band practice lasted for a couple more hours until the group eventually called it a day. After the practicing that they had done they were more than willing to take a break for the day and get back to practicing some other time. Mary Jane Watson was even close losing her voice and even Gwen's arms were feeling tired after constantly beating the drums. All in all the women were tired.

Eventually Gwen began to make her way back home and once again she walked since she didn't have any money for a taxi. Having superpowers and being a rock band were fun and all but at this point in time they weren't paying the bills. She wanted to get a job soon and one that her powers could probably help with.

One career Gwen did consider was going into professional wrestling. The strength that her abilities gave her made her stronger than any naturally strong person in the world, her speed would also be great inside a wrestling ring and she felt that her charisma would win over any crowd. She even considered wearing a luchador style mask so that people wouldn't be able to see what she looked like.

This was only a silly little dream however as her father would most likely want her to go into a more normal job. She did consider becoming a cop like her father but since she was the most wanted person in New York City right now she didn't think that it was the best of ideas. Taking down crooks in the legal way would be satisfying but there would also be so much red tape that she would soon regret stepping out on the street.

One thing that Gwen did begin to feel was her spider sense tingling again. It wasn't strong enough to indicate that she was in any immediate danger but rather once again was in the background. She stopped and took a look around to see whether she could see whatever was causing her spider sense to go off. There were numerous people walking around her on the street but there was no indication that any of them meant her harm.

There was one person who did stick out as Gwen looked. It was a hooded man who she couldn't see his face. He seemed to be an average man but when he saw that she had noticed him he turned around and began to walk away. There was something about him that she just couldn't get out of her mind and she knew that she had to catch up with him to find out exactly who he was.

Normally at this point she would use her webbing or begin to leap to catch up with the man but Gwen couldn't do those things here. It would obviously give away her secret identity and also she couldn't shoot her webbing without her costume. When she had gained her spider abilities she wasn't able to shoot her own webbing, however she did figure out how to make her own webbing and build her own web suiters. This had been something that even she had been surprised about but she figured that the spider bite somehow given her the knowledge to be able to do this.

Instead of leaping Gwen began to follow the man at a steady pace. She had to cross a street and because she was in a hurry she did a bit of jaywalking but thankfully there were no cops around to stop her for it. Instead she just kept going and she noticed the hooded man turn around and look at her. The instant that he saw her he began to pick up the pace, he even went into a back alley.

Gwen followed not long afterwards but by the time she got there she noticed that he was gone. It was a long alley and she knew that she should have been able to see him, unless he was the fasted man on the planet she knew there was no way that he could have run down the alley entirely before she got there.

There were a couple of explanations to where he could have gone and all of them included using superhuman abilities. One idea that she had would be something that she would have done herself. In response she looked up and saw the man climbing up the side of one of the buildings high up. He seemed to be sticking to the walls just like she did and the way that he moved indicated that like Gwen he had spider like abilities.

For the first few moments Gwen looked up at the escaping man in surprise before she also leaped up high into the air and she began to climb up the wall as well. There was no one around to see her and sticking to walls was one aspect of her abilities that she did enjoy. She didn't know exactly how it worked, she did consider that small hairs had grown on her hands and feet and it allowed her to stick to the walls. That would make sense however when she wore gloves and shoes she wouldn't be able to stick to walls since her clothing would be covering it. For now she didn't have any real explanation but at this moment in time it wasn't important.

Gwen crawled up the wall as fast as she could but the man ahead of her still seemed to have a lot of distance between them. This annoyed her somewhat but one thing that she could tell that whoever this person as he wasn't a novice when it came to his powers. She remembered when she first gained her spider abilities that it took her some time to obtain the level of skill that she possessed now. This only added to her annoyance as she feared that she would lose him.

She watched the man climb onto the top of the building and he continued to run so she moved quickly so that she still had a chance of catching him. She was somewhat handicapped without her web shooters but if anything she was versatile enough to get by without them. She knew that eventually she would come up with a situation without her web shooters and the only way she could truly call competent was if she could handle a situation like this without them.

When Gwen did eventually reach the top of the building she could see the man standing there and waiting for her. She stopped suddenly in her tracks and looked at him, her spider sense was still tingling and it was stronger than it had been before. Not to the point that it was screaming full on danger but enough to keep her cautious. She made sure that she stood her ground and although she was a little intimidated she didn't want to show any kind of weakness towards him.

"Who are you and how did you get your powers?" asked Gwen. She knew that he had spider abilities just like her and she didn't whether to be glad of this or outright terrified. Although during her adventures with the numerous alternate Spider-Men she knew that there would be some that were evil.

"I think you might already know the answer," replied the man. He removed his hood and Gwen saw a familiar face. It was that of her old friend Peter Parker but he looked older and more mature. He looked to be in his late twenties and she had to admit that he looked handsome. "You could say that I've travelled a long way to find you Gwen Stacy." He had a smile on his face and she could see his pearly white teeth.

"Wait y-you're Peter Parker." She was in a small amount of disbelief but it wouldn't leave her crippled like this for long. "Are you from another reality?" The last thing she wanted was for him to be a clone because that would just raise too many questions that she didn't want to investigate.

"Yeah I'm from a reality that's not too different from your own." He took a few steps towards Gwen and she didn't know whether to accept this or make him keep his distance. "The only big difference that I can see is that I got bitten by the radioactive spider and not you."

"Let me guess I'm dead in your reality." She crossed her arms and it was almost like she knew what he was going to say.

"Yes but how did you know?" He had a look of some surprise after hearing what Gwen had just said.

"I've met a lot of Peter Parkers and you won't believe how many of them told me that I was dead in their reality." It was disappointing in her mind and made her somewhat fearful about her own safety in the near future.

"Well I guess that will save me a lot of time." A small smile appeared on his face, it seemed to be one of true happiness. "I'm sorry but you don't know how happy I am that I'm finally getting to see you face to face."

"If you're so happy to see me then why did you run from me?" She kept her arms crossed as she thought that there was something suspicious about him. His actions hadn't made that much sense at this point in time.

"My apologies but seeing you brings up too many memories. I held my Gwen when she was dying. Seeing the life disappear from her body is something that I will never forget. What made it worse was the fact she was pregnant only made my sorrow that much more painful." His expression turned to sadness as he remembered his Gwen Stacy dying. "But you look so much like her, although I have to admit that you're a bit younger than she was, how old are you? Twenty?"

"I'm eighteen." She was beginning to feel sympathy towards him. Her Peter Parker had died in her arms as he told her that he was trying to be special like her. She would remember that moment until the end of her days.

"My Gwen had just gotten to thirty when I lost her. I tried to move on since then but there was no woman who could truly replace her. It was then I decided that the only way to be with her again was to travel to a different reality where you were still alive. I had a friend who was more than willing to help me, his name was Doctor Curtis Connors and he created this device to allow me to travel to other dimensions." He lifted up his shirt a little and on his belt Gwen saw that he was carrying what looked to be a hi-tech device which was the size of an old Walkman. "It took me many attempts to find one where you were alive, I know that this might be difficult to hear but in the other dimensions you were either dead or never existed." He did seem to show remorse for having to tell Gwen that but his joy of seeing her seemed to trump anything else.

"So you've jumped realities just to see me? That is kind of sweet in a way." She only admitted this part and not about how she found it a bit creepy. It was true that not many other men would do that for her. "If you don't mind my asking but how did your Gwen Stacy die?" She knew that it would be a difficult question for him to answer but she felt that she needed to know.

"That is difficult me to say but you have a right to know. I was battling against the Rhino and in his rage he just ran and speared everyone in sight. One of them was my Gwen." A tear began to roll down his face as he told Gwen. "She had been close by so that she could make sure I was safe. It cost my Gwen her life and even though I ended Rhino's rampage once and for all it still couldn't bring her back to me." He wiped away the tear and continued to talk. "I hope this helped you in some way."

"Y-yeah it did." She was beginning to get emotional herself. It was hard to hear about how a different version of her had died. It just made her think that she was doomed to die young in every reality.

"But this is the best you I could have possibly hoped to have found. Not only are you alive but you have amazing gifts just like me." He took a few steps forwards and although Gwen thought that everything was fine there was still the gnawing feeling in her head thanks to her spider sense. "You have the power to protect yourself from whatever the world wants to throw at you."

"If you're telling me that we're supposed to be together then things are definitely moving too fast. I admit that you look a lot like the friend that I had lost but that doesn't mean that you're instantly my friend."

"Of course how foolish of me, I'm getting ahead of myself. Of course it will take time for all of this to sink in." He took out a card inside of his pocket which had a handwritten address written onto it. He took a few steps towards Gwen and allowed her to take it out of his hand. She began to look at it and he took a couple of steps back. "This is where I am staying, please contact me when you want to talk."

"Can't we talk face to face?" She looked away from the card and wanted to see this alternate Peter but she discovered that he was gone. This caused her some confusion but she didn't want to find him immediately. When she had been on her trans-dimensional adventure with the other Spider-Men and Women she had met a particular Spider-Man who had the ability to camouflage himself. She didn't find it all that hard to believe that this Peter Parker possessed the same ability.

Regardless of what had just happened Gwen placed the card inside her pocket and she tried to think about what she was going to do next. She did contemplate climbing down the building the same way she had gotten up but there was a good chance that she might get spotted. Instead she thought that the best way to get down was to go through the building like a normal person. At least that way she wouldn't attract any attention to herself. Of course that would only solve her most immediate problem.

An hour later Gwen found herself sitting down on a bench near where she lived. Rather than going home straight away she just wanted to have some time to think. Everything had happened so quickly that she was still trying to catch her wind and figure out what she should do. She did consider going to Peter and maybe having some kind of relationship with him. He had travelled so far to find her and he had evidently loved his own Gwen to the point that led him to this.

However Gwen couldn't help but think about her own Peter and the monster that he had become just so that he could be special like her. She still blamed herself for his death and it seemed that no matter how many people or worlds she saved it would never remove the guilt that she felt.

Gwen did go onto her phone and she brought up a number of someone that she felt that she could talk to. Right now talking about the inner details to her father would be difficult and if she tried to hide anything he would know. It was what had made him a great detective and a stern father. Instead she wanted to call someone that she knew that she could talk to and wouldn't have to go through every detail. She just dialled the number and placed the phone against her ear.

"Hello," said a female voice after a couple of rings. It was that of Lizzie who sounded somewhat concerned.

"Hi Liz its Gwen," replied Gwen.

"Hey there Gwen what's up?" She sounded upbeat and it was a tone that Gwen had wanted to hear.

"I just need some advice and I think that you can help me big time." She was trying to make it sound like it wasn't too much of a big deal.

"What is it? Its not drugs is it?"

"What? No." The question had come so quick that this was the first thing that Gwen could think about saying. "I just need some advice and don't worry it's nothing illegal." She wanted to give Lizzie this little reassurance just so she didn't think that Gwen was doing anything that she shouldn't.

"Ok shoot."

"I've just met someone who I thought that I might never see again and he wants to spend time with me."

"So what's the problem?" Her voice had a very curious tone to it as it sounded like she genuinely wanted to know what Gwen was talking about. "He didn't hit you or anything like that?"

"No, it's just that how things ended with us was very upsetting." She wanted to say that he had died in her arms but that was something that she didn't want to discuss. "It's just strange to see him again."

"What do you think is the best?" She seemed to be very concerned and it made Gwen feel like she could really talk to her.

"I don't know, he means so much to me and yet how we finished off makes me cautious. I don't want it to happen again."

"What did happen?"

"I can't really say. It's something I want to keep to myself, I hope that you can understand but I don't want to say. Just know that he never hurt me or did anything to me that anyone could consider to be bad. To tell you the truth it is more me than anything else and he's willing to welcome me back."

"Then it is you who is keeping you back. The first question I need to ask you is how much do you care about him?"

"More than I could ever admit." She still remembered when she and Peter were younger that they were inseparable. Their friendship had never been about love but purely for each other's company and as they grew older it had stayed the same. They had always been there for each other but knowing that she had a part in his death was still overwhelming for her. "I couldn't have imagined my life without him."

"Then you should go and see him at least. The fact that he meant so much to you must mean something. If anything it would be foolish not to see him, if you really need me to I can come along for support."

"You're fine there Liz. How is everything with you?"

For the next several minutes the two women talked to one another about more general things. Lizzie told Gwen that she was going on a blind date later that night and she was considering wearing heels. Unfortunately at Lizzie's height adding the heels would make her look extremely tall. Both women found this humorous but eventually they had to say goodbye to one another so that they could carry on with their lives. For Gwen it was returning home for a short amount of time while Lizzie had to prepare for her date. It wasn't hard for her to figure out that she would be wearing her flat shoes.

Minutes later Gwen walked through the front door of her house and she expected to see her father but he was nowhere in sight. A part of her worried that he had been kidnapped or something malicious like that. However she knew that most likely that he was just out working at the police station. He might have been off the Spider-Woman search but there were numerous more crimes that needed to be investigated.

Gwen could only imagine the different cases that her father had investigated over the years. Some probably more macabre or bizarre to comfortably tell anyone. If she thought that she had seen the violent underbelly of New York City she probably had nothing on her father in that respect.

The next thing that Gwen did was begin to prepare herself some dinner. She was still hungry and although she had thrown up her pizza earlier she still wanted food. There was some vegetables left that she thought she could make into a salad and although she was still feeling off she felt that eating was the best thing she could do. If she didn't eat it was likely that her illness would only get worse and eating salads was better than eating pizzas and other fatty foods.

Gwen had no idea what was making her feel ill. It wasn't what had happened with Peter but was something else. It had started a few days earlier and it was steadily getting worse. It was causing her some concern but she still couldn't bring herself to see a doctor.

She didn't want anyone else learning of her secret identity and going to see a doctor increased the chances of that happening. She knew that the odds were not very weren't very high but it was still a risk that she didn't want to take. One thing Gwen did consider is if she went to do see Doctor Janet Van Dyne who already knew her secret and would likely help her. However she didn't want to bother the size changing heroine since she probably had more important things to worry about and she didn't want to bother her over something that seemed to be relatively minor. If it were a life or death situation then Gwen would definitely go to her.

With her father out of the house Gwen made herself something quick and she sat down to watch some TV. She had a few soaps that she wanted to watch and even had a documentary about a national park in Europe. Even when she watched these shows she couldn't really focus on them as her mind wandered towards the alternate Peter Parker. It was hard to put it out of her mind and the memory of the original Peter.

What was worse for her was the fact that she lived right next door to where Peter had lived. He was raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben who still lived in the house. It was just one giant reminder of her friend and not in the best way. The couple believed that Spider-Woman was the reason why they lost their nephew and in a way they weren't wrong.

Gwen took the card out of her pocket which Peter had given her and she saw the address that was written onto it. Unfortunately she didn't know where it was but a quick internet search gave her the results that she had wanted to see. It was of an apartment block not too far from where she was. It was not the kind of place a person with considerable amount of money would be living. It was for those who struggled to make ends meet and it wasn't really known for being the best place to live.

For the next several minutes Gwen sat there and thought about what she was going to do. She had Lizzie's advice in her mind and she knew that she would have to see this Peter eventually. If she ignored him she doubted that he would simply disappear, like he said he had found a Gwen Stacy who was more than capable of looking after herself. That was something that he wouldn't give up lightly.

In a way she considered it like someone who had been looking for coal but found a diamond instead. Rather than going for the coal said person would do anything to keep the diamond and this scenario had seemed to happen right in front of Gwen. It was going to be hard for her to go especially after what happened to her own Peter Parker. She knew that this Peter had also seen tragedy with the death of his own Gwen and for that reason she thought that he deserved a chance.

Gwen knew that her father wouldn't be home for several hours and so she prepared herself to go out. As she had promised him she was leaving the Spider-Woman costume behind but something inside of her was telling her to take her web shooters with her. She didn't know what it was exactly that was telling her to do this but whatever it was she couldn't help but listen to it.

She placed the web shooters in a small backpack and she made sure that the web cartridges were full. On more than one occasion she had run out of webbing at the worst possible time and she felt that she was going to need it. She still felt a little off due to her illness and she had been careful with the food that she had made for herself earlier. She had made sure that there wasn't anything in there that was likely to make her throw up.

So that George wasn't completely left in the dark Gwen wrote a note for him stating that she was going out and that she would be back shortly. She also wrote that she hadn't taken her suit and that he could find it in her bedroom exactly where she had left it. It was her way of showing that she was keeping her promise but she didn't know just what was going to happen on this night.


	4. Chapter 4: All Night and All Day

By the time Gwen left the house it was completely dark outside. There wasn't even a moon to light up the night but there was one thing that she had going for her and that was the fact that her abilities did give her some enhanced vision. She couldn't completely see in the dark but she could see a lot better than the average person. There was a cool breeze so she made sure that she had a hooded jacket on.

Since the trip to the apartment where Peter was staying wasn't too far away from where she lived she decided to walk it. Also she didn't have that much money and she thought that she'd be wasting it if she travelled in a taxi. The price of a taxi was constantly going up and up and yet her bank balance was not.

Gwen did think walking was the best because it gave her a little more time to think and she hoped that the fresh air would make her feel better. Her illness hadn't flared up yet but she felt that it was only a matter of time before she found herself throwing up again, she didn't want this to happen in front of Peter.

As Gwen walked along the streets she did feel her spider sense begin to tingle which meant that there was approaching danger. Rather than approaching this danger head on she decided to avoid it and just carry on. However this came to a stop when a man stepped in front of her. By now her spider sense was going crazy and she could already sense that there were two more men behind her. She could tell that they were looking for trouble but she wasn't going to resort to violence unless it was needed.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing out here all by yourself?" asked the man in front of Gwen. He was wearing dark clothing that had made him hard to see in the dark and Gwen didn't turn to look at the other men.

"None of your business," replied Gwen who just wanted to keep going. "And if you don't mind I'd rather be on my way."

"Well we do mind actually." A smile appeared on his ace that looked unnerving. "You see my friends and I are in the spirit of having a little fun tonight. And we kinda figured that you would want to get in on the action."

"No thank you. I have places to be and people to see." She was completely calm as this was nowhere near as bad as other situations she had been in. She had faced off against man eating vampire like creatures and a woman who was larger than the Statue Of Liberty. These three men were nothing in comparison to them.

"Oh I'm sorry I made it sound like you have a choice." He took a knife out of his pocket and his smile only grew. "Well you don't."

The next thing Gwen felt was one of the men grab her around the neck from behind and it seemed that they were going to drag her away. To them she was just an average girl who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The thug felt a lot of pain when she grabbed his arm and began to squeeze it with some of her strength. It caused him to release his grip and Gwen flipped him onto the ground almost like a Judo flip.

It was then that the three men realised that Gwen was no ordinary woman but they couldn't allow what just happened slide by. The first man attempted to stab Gwen with his knife but her reflexes allowed her to easily side stepped the attack and grabbed the man's wrist so hard that it caused him to drop the knife.

Rather than flipping the man onto the ground like she had done before instead she used the man's arm to pull him sharply towards her. She then lifted her arm and gave him a sharp elbow to the face which was more than strong enough to knock him out. She could have killed him if she so pleased but that was not her way. If she began killing those that she saw as crooks then she would be no better than what the media portrayed her to be, nothing more than a murderer.

There was only one man left who had seen first hand Gwen taking down his two friends. He looked at her for a few moments before realising that if he stayed he would end up like his friends. Even with his mind he knew it was better to run so he turned around and ran like his life depended on it.

Gwen just watched him run and she didn't follow, in her mind it wouldn't achieve anything if she tracked him down. The man had learned his lesson at the extent of his friends. All Gwen did was check on the two knocked out men and sat them up. They leaned against a wall and after a quick examination she could see that their injuries were not too serious. She thought that they deserved to have a severely broken leg but that was against her code so she decided to just let them be. They didn't really mean anything to her so causing them any kind of suffering would not be in her nature.

The rest of the walk went without any serious event although once Gwen did think it was going to rain but thankfully none came. She stood outside the apartment complex where Peter had told her that she was living. It definitely didn't look like a place that she would want to live but she could see how many people called the place home.

As Gwen stepped inside of the complex not very surprisingly she saw that the elevator was broken. This would mean that she would have to climb up all the stairs to reach the apartment, from the address she could see that the apartment was on the eleventh floor which meant that she had a lot of stairs to climb. She was somewhat tired after her walk but she did walk up each step one after the other.

As Gwen walked up the stairs her nose was greeted with smells that she really wish she hadn't smelt. She didn't know exactly what it was that she was smelling but she didn't really want to know. It made her a little more thankful to be living in a house with her father rather than an apartment complex like this.

Eventually Gwen reached the apartment door which was the same as the one that Peter had written down in the address. She began to feel nervous and she even contemplated turning around and just going home. She didn't know exactly what would happen or even where the night would take her. She just took a deep breath before knocking on the door and proceeded to wait.

After a couple of moments Gwen heard some rummaging behind the door and soon it opened. She saw Peter standing there and her heart began to beat faster, one thing that she did notice that she hadn't really before was the fact that he was taller than her. The Peter Parker she had known was a very short boy which was one reason why he had been picked on by bullies. He was still wearing the same clothing that he had worn earlier and he had a large smile appear on his face.

"Gwen I'm so glad that you could come," said Peter with genuine joy in his voice. He did step aside so that she could step inside. "Please come in, we don't want to be talking out here where everyone can hear."

Gwen did as she was told as she stepped into the apartment and she was surprised to see just how clean it was. From the rest of the building she had expected the apartment to be at least somewhat dirty but she could see nothing out of place. Everything was clean to the point that a person would be comfortable eating off of it. It was obvious to her that he had taken a lot of time and effort to make the apartment clean and she respected this by taking off her shoes as she walked inside.

Peter directed her to sit down on a sofa which was once again in pristine condition. As she sat down she could feel the comfort of the sofa and she wouldn't have minded getting lost in its softness. She watched as Peter sat down on a chair not too far away from the sofa and the smile on his face had yet to fade away. To him his life goal had been achieved and he was going to bask in the joy for as long as he could.

"Words cannot describe how happy I am that you're here," said Peter. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"No I'm alright thank you." She was still somewhat nervous about being there. She thought that she was doing the right thing but there was something inside of her telling her that something wasn't right. "I must say that this place is spotless, you must spend a lot of time on it."

"Of course, keeping a clean home is the first step to perfection. Or so they say in my reality." There seemed to be genuine joy in his voice which Gwen did find reassuring but she could still feel something with her spider sense. She didn't know whether it was anything to do with Peter or his escalating illness.

"Also I was just wondering when you were going to see your aunt and uncle?" She knew how much Peter had meant to them and they would probably be extremely happy to see him again.

"My Aunt May and Uncle Ben?" There was some confusion in her voice. "I know that they're family but are they special in any way?"

"Are they special?" This answer had come as some surprise to her. "They were the ones who raised you since you were a kid."

"Really?" He began to rub his chin as he realised that this was another difference between his reality and Gwen's. "Oh I see what's happened here, you see in my dimension I was raised by my parents until I left for college. It seems that in this reality something unfortunate happened to them so my Aunt May and Uncle Ben must have raised me." It was a sad thought to think that something bad might have happened to them. "It is very interesting to find out the difference between our realities." His expression changed for a moment and Gwen knew that he was going to say something serious. "I was told that when travelling to different realities the range of differences could be minute or mind blowing. In some realities you could spend your entire life trying to find a difference and coming up blank. However in others they will be so radically different that they defy comprehension. You wouldn't believe that I once went to a reality where the only difference was that a single man had decided to take a left turn instead of a right turn one day to work. Another humanity had advanced to the point where we had risen above war and everyone lived in peace and tranquillity. Some would have said that it was paradise."

"If it was paradise why didn't you stay there?" She would have liked to have lived in a world like that, then she would still have her own Peter.

"Because there was no Gwen Stacy and a reality without Gwen Stacy is one I don't want to live in no matter how perfect everything is."

Gwen couldn't help but feel touched by this. She saw that this Peter Parker had an opportunity to be in a reality where he would have known peace. Instead he had kept going purely because he wanted to be with her. She didn't know many other men would be willing to do something like that for a woman.

For the next several minutes Gwen began to ask Peter questions about his reality about people that she knew and events in history. One big historical difference that she discovered was that there was no American War For Independence. Instead America's independence had come through diplomacy rather than war. One other difference she had discovered was that Mary Jane Watson had been dating Peter for some time before he had chosen Gwen. It was easy to say that Mary Jane hadn't taken it well and had actually joined the army to vent her frustration over the break-up. Gwen found this to be humorous since her own Mary Jane could be difficult to be around as well. If the band ever had a bad practice session she was more than willing to let them know about it.

"So what's your MJ like?" asked Peter as he picked up a nearby glass of juice and took a sip out of it.

"Well she's the bossiest person I know but underneath her words I know that she doesn't mean them. She just has trouble interacting with people sometimes." She chuckled a little to herself as she was trying to make Mary Jane sound better than she was. Gwen was close to walking away from the band but she stayed with them for now.

Gwen still felt unwell and she feared that she was going to pass out. It was a combination of her illness and the fact that she was seeing Peter Parker again. Unlike the other Peter Parkers that she had met this one was willing stay in this reality and be with her. She didn't know whether she should be thankful for this or to question it. If anything in her life she had learned that when anything really good happened to her it would come at a cost. Even her spider abilities had come at a cost since they were one of the causes of the death of her own Peter.

"Are you alright Gwen?" asked Peter as he could see that Gwen was not in the best of conditions.

"Yeah I just think I'm coming down with the flu," replied Gwen as she tried to push his questions off as if it wasn't anything. "Give me a couple of days and I'll be as right as rain." The truth was that she felt like she was going to pass out at any moment but she tried to hide it as best as she could.

"But still I think that you should stop here for the night." There was a small hint of sternness in his voice as this indicated that he meant what he was saying. From Gwen's prospective it was out of worry for her own health.

"I-I'll be fine." She smiled to try and show that she was alright but if anything it convinced Peter more that she needed to stay.

"No you're not Gwen. You're going to stay here tonight and I'm not letting you go back home until I'm sure that you're fine. You can sleep on the sofa tonight and then we can see how you feel in the morning." He would have loved nothing more than to be in bed with her again but of course he thought that this Gwen wouldn't appreciate it.

"I-I really can't."

"Yes you can. Look at you, you're in no condition to go anywhere. I don't care if your father arrests me for kidnap, you're staying here for the night at least. I couldn't comfortably allow you to go out there in your condition. In with your abilities you won't be helping anyone."

"O-Ok I'll stay." She wanted to protest but she couldn't help but see truth in Peter's words. If she did walk out of the apartment there was a good chance that she was just keel over after a few steps and then she was at the mercy of anyone who just happened to be passing by. A position that she didn't want to be in.

"Good, now I know that it's getting late so I'm going to let you get some beauty sleep. Hopefully you'll feel better in the morning."

"Y-yeah hopefully I will."

The pair did talk for a few more minutes before Peter allowed Gwen to get some much needed rest. He provided her with a duvet to keep her warm and he was sure to allow her to sleep in peace. For Gwen it was definitely not the most pleasant experience in the world. She couldn't help but feel ill and no matter how much she wished she couldn't make herself feel any better. This was just something that she was going to have to wait for her body to purge the illness from her body.

Eventually Gwen did fall into a deep but restless sleep and even then she was not at ease. Like many different nights she began to dream. In this dream she was walking down a street in the city and there wasn't another soul there. The rain was pouring and she carefully stepped forward as if there was something that she was terrified of. She was constantly looking around for anything of danger. She was wearing her civilian clothing although she did have her web shooters attached to her hands.

It was also the dead of night but the calm was disturbed by a loud roar. Gwen quickly turned and saw something that filled her with dread. It was something that at first she thought was a moving lump of tar but she saw that this wasn't the case. It had a more humanoid figure and when she looked at its face instead of having eyes it had large white oval dots. It had several large and sharp teeth in its mouth with a long tongue. She could smell something from this creature as well, smelled like something had died or of something that was toxic. Either way it wasn't a pleasant smell.

Gwen attempted to use her webbing to try and stop it as it walked towards her. Much to her horror she discovered that her webbing was completely gone and all she could do was begin to walk backwards. When she looked down she could see that the feet of this creature was burning a holes in the ground.

Running short on options Gwen decided that she should try and punch the creature in hopes that she could knock it out. She quickly took a swing at its head and with one clean punch she saw that it came straight off without much effort. She had felt the impact of the blow and rather than feeling like she had struck anything solid it felt more like she had just something squishy like jelly.

At first Gwen thought that the creature had been defeated but much to her horror she discovered that its head was beginning to grow back. Worse still she could see that some of the creature's tar like substance was now on her fist. Rather than the substance dropping off of her it seemed to be growing as it began to cover more and more of her hand. Quickly it travelled up her arm and no matter what she did there was nothing that she could do to stop it as it spread like wildfire.

Within moments Gwen was completely covered with the substance and her entire body was black besides her head which for the moment was the only part of her body which hadn't been touched. She was in absolute terror and when she looked at the creature she saw its mouth open up wide and she could see a human face inside. It continued to open further and further until Gwen could see the entire head. Her eyes widened when she realised that she was looking at the alternate Peter Parker. He had a sick smile on his face and eyes that made her think that he had lost his mind.

"We will be together forever," said Peter in a distorted voice. He seemed to be happy that Gwen was almost completely covered by the substance. "The three of us will live happily ever after!"

Gwen went to scream but she couldn't as the substance finally overtook her head and she became just like Peter. A being completely made up of this substance that had been expunged of a soul and left with just an empty husk. She could feel nothing but terror as she knew that the life she had known was over.

At that instance Gwen woke up with a cold sweat. She began to breathe heavily and much to her relief she discovered that what she had experienced had merely been a dream. It didn't make her feel any better however as this had been the second nightmare in as many nights and each of them had made her feel terrible afterwards. Both had been based around her deceased friend Peter Parker. She didn't know whether this was some kind of sign or just her guilt getting the better of her.

One thing that Gwen did see that it was now morning. This was some relief for her as it meant that she wouldn't have to go back to sleep for some time and she did feel better. The severe illness that she had suffered the night before had died down considerably when she had woken up.

For a moment Gwen didn't know where she was as she had forgotten that she had met up with the alternate Peter and had stopped in his apartment for the night. The memories soon came back to her and she felt better from this.

Slowly Gwen got to her feet and discovered that she was very lightheaded. She had to quickly grab onto something to help her support herself, she felt like a new born gazelle that was learning how to walk. She did fall take a few steps forwards and with each step that she took she felt herself get a little stronger. She did feel better than she had the previous night but she still wasn't one hundred percent.

Gwen did contemplate leaving the apartment without telling Peter, she knew that it would likely hurt his feelings but she didn't want to disturb him either. She knew that her father was probably worried sick about her. He probably also thought that she had broken his promise to her and had become Spider-Woman once again. Things were still a little too weird between her and Peter so she wanted to make some distance between them so that she could think a few things through.

It took Gwen a few moments to collect her things and make her way out of the apartment. She didn't know what time it was but she knew that it was quite early. She thought that Peter was most likely asleep but she did leave him a note. She wrote about how she had enjoyed the night before but she still needed time to think some things through because of how her relationship ended with her own Peter. She promised that she would contact him in the future but right now she need some alone time.

As Gwen stepped out of the apartment complex the first thing that she was greeted with was a blinding light. This was nothing more than the morning sun and it took her a few seconds to adjust to the light. Despite the time of morning there were still a fair few people walking around as they got along with their lives. None of them took any notice of Gwen and in truth they shouldn't. Without her Spider-Woman costume she looked to be just a normal young adult.

Soon enough Gwen began to walk back towards her home but she didn't realise that she was being watched. From the side of the wall of the apartment complex Peter was watching her. He was high up in the air and he was above the view of most people. Also the grey tracksuit that he was wearing helped him blend into the building behind him. He could see Gwen walking but rather than going to her he decided to stay where he was and a small smile appeared on his face. He felt like he had gained a small victory and in time he would achieve his ultimate goal.

Gwen's walk was pretty long but uneventful as she approached her home. She could see her father's car in the drive and she realised that he was back home. However when she looked up to the window of his bedroom she could see that the curtains to his bedroom were closed so he was still asleep. She knew that he would be asleep for several hours since he had just worked a night shift.

Quietly Gwen went inside of her home and she sat down on the sofa. Since on this day she had no prior plans she decided to have some breakfast and watch the news. She usually just stuck with the local news that would begin with big stories such as important events in the city and surrounding area. However later on there would be stories that were more comical than the norm. These would involve people doing things that many would consider to be odd. Once she remembered a report about a woman who had married the man of her dreams, however it turned out that she had actually married his identical twin brother. Some of those kind of reports were normally quite amusing but others were just down right bizarre and it made Gwen feel normal in comparison, despite her superhuman abilities.

Gwen sat on the sofa and ate a bowl of her favourite cereal. Despite the fact that she was still feeling a little ill she discovered that she was eating much more than normal. She found herself eating one bowl after another and it was much like at the mall when she had seen and spoken to Liz. She just hoped that she wouldn't gain any weight or else she would have difficulties fitting into her costume. She did think that her spider metabolism might have caused her appetite to increase. She wouldn't be surprised if someone with her abilities needed to eat more than the average person.

There was one thing that did catch her attention on the news. The newscasters had gone through what seemed to be the bulk of the main news and was beginning to move onto the more light-hearted section when suddenly the anchor on the TV was handed a piece of paper from someone just off screen. He read it for a few moments before looking back at the camera. Just from his facial expression Gwen could tell that there was something bad which was taking place.

"Ladies and Gentlemen some breaking news has just been brought to our attention," said the anchor man who was a veteran of the position. "We have just received word that at this moment in time a hostage situation is taking place at downtown. Herman Schultz also known as the Shocker has taken several people hostage at the Felton's Bank in downtown, Lucy is there on the scene."

Suddenly the picture on the TV changed to that of a woman holding the microphone. Her name appeared at the bottom of the screen and the caption 'Live' could be seen in the top right hand corner. She looked to be quite a young woman but there was a serious look on her face.

"Thank you Josh as you can see behind me police have already begun to cordon off the area," said Lucy. "The situation here is tense as Mr Schultz has threatened serious harm to the people inside of the bank. He has made his demands to police and now we're just waiting to see what the police do next. Earlier I tried to ask a few questions to Detective Frank Castle and the only words he answered were 'The situation is well at hand.' However many people don't believe that this is the case. The situation could turn at a moment but we don't know whether it'll end in horror or not. Only time can tell."

"Let me ask you something. Has there been any sign of Spider-Woman? It is known that she has a history with Schultz but has she made an appearance?"

"At this point in time no there has been no sign of her. Many including the public figure J. Jonah Jameson believe that the two are somehow working together. However as of yet there has been no sign of the vigilante."

Gwen sat there in silence as she began to think about her next move. She seriously considered getting back into her costume and taking down Shocker but with so many police already there and with such a news coverage as that it would be difficult for her to escape. Many already believed that she was a murderer and running away like that would only cement people's belief.

However Gwen couldn't just sit by and see people in danger like that when she knew that she had the power to save them. She knew that she was going to have to put her costume back on and break her promise to her father but she felt that it was going to be for the right reason until something on the TV caught her eye.

"Wait a minute the doors of the bank are opening," said Lucy who quickly looked at the doors. The camera zoomed in at the doors so that the viewers could clearly see it. At this point Gwen knew that it was already too late for her to do something.

A few moments passed until they saw a woman stepping out through the doors. The police were preparing to shoot but many of them began to recognise who the woman was. It was none other than Gwen's friend and Avenger Doctor Janet Van Dyne. She took a few steps forwards and in her hand she was carrying a cage. The camera began to focus more on the cage and inside was a tiny man. The man was the Shocker who was banging against the bars in a vain attempt to free himself. His gauntlets had been removed so he was no danger to anyone. Gwen was glad by what she had seen since it meant that she didn't need to become Spider-Woman again however a part of her was also disappointed. She wanted to be helping people just like she had promised to Peter before he died but it seemed that there truly was no need for Spider-Woman anymore.


	5. Chapter 5: A Darker Side

Gwen continued to watch the TV and saw Doctor Janet Van Dyne saving the day and a lot of people congratulating her over it. Gwen knew that if she had gone the policemen would have more likely shot at her rather than the Shocker. She felt that the world wasn't fair but she hoped that one day she could be Spider-Woman and not have to worry about anyone on the right side of the law trying to shoot her.

It was around that time that she heard her father begin to stir and he walked down the stairs. He was wearing his dressing gown and he was creaking his neck as he had slept on it funny. He could see Gwen sitting there eating her cereal and watching the TV. She knew that he was there and she turned her head to look at him.

"Hi dad?" said Gwen as she watched him take a few steps towards where she was sitting. "How was work last night?"

"Nothing really happened to get excited about but the thing I'm most concerned about is the fact that you weren't here last night," replied George. He didn't seem to be that angry as he was going to give his daughter a chance to explain herself. "Now would you be so kind as to tell me where you were."

"I stayed round at my friend's place." In a manner of speaking what she was saying was true. "Before you jump to any conclusions no I wasn't going around the streets as Spider-Woman."

"Oh I know that you didn't, I found your costume here and there were no reports of Spider-Woman last night. A part of me is glad about this since you've demonstrated that you're intended to keep your promise. But it is still dangerous out there on the streets, even with someone of your abilities. All I want to know is that you're safe."

"You don't need to worry about that. I'm fast and agile enough to dodge bullets and strong enough to lift a car over my head. Hell I even use my strength to help around the house." This was true, on more than one occasion Gwen had easily lifted up the entire sofa so that the spot underneath it could be vacuumed. At one point George needed to change a tyre on his car but his jack was broken. Gwen had been able to lift the car up enough for him to change the tyre. Of course they made sure that no one was watching first.

"I know that sweetie but next time you don't mind just telling me that you're going to be out all night. I got your message when I came back but I was still worried when you still weren't back."

"Ok Dad." She didn't want to tell him about her illness since she didn't want to worry him. She still believed that her abilities would allow her to get over them. She had suffered a couple of illnesses since receiving her powers such as the common cold but they would last significant less than it would for a normal person. The fact that she hadn't fully shaken this illness off yet was something that was causing her some worry.

"Well if you don't mind me asking but who did you stay with last night? Was it Mary Jane Watson or one of your other friends?"

"It was Liz Allen." She had come up with this excuse as she had recently developed a friendship with Liz and also she didn't want to tell him about this other Peter Parker who was living nearby.

"Who?" He hadn't heard Gwen mention Liz Allen recently and this got him somewhat intrigued.

"You know Liz, I went to high school with her. Well we met up recently at the mall and we began to talk. She invited me round to her place and we had a bit of a girl's night but it got a little late so she told me that I could stay the night. I would have called you but I know I'm not supposed to call you at work unless it's an emergency."

"That's fine Gwen, you're old enough to do as you please, within reason of course." He gulped for a moment as he realised just how thirsty he was. "You did leave me some OJ didn't you?"

"Yeah there's a full carton in the fridge."

George moved into the kitchen to pick up the orange juice while Gwen remained where she was. With the big story finished the news began to wrap up and she did look forward to what came afterwards. It was a children's cartoon but it was one that had become popular with adults as well. She just found it very funny although George didn't particularly like it. He just couldn't wrap his head around it.

Meanwhile some distance away Peter Parker was going about his own business but he discovered that he was very hungry. He had just been out to run a couple of errands but his hunger was beginning to get the better of him. He needed to feed himself before he could go any further.

Peter's salvation seemed to present itself as he made his way down an alley where hardly anyone went down. However there was one person that Peter spotted but that was the entire point of his actions. Slowly he walked down the alley who was nothing more than a homeless man who was already drinking a bottle of bear. This homeless man looked to be in his fifties with a long beard and grey hair. It was obvious that he had not washed himself and that he had been living on the streets for some time now. The smell that he generated was enough to keep a regular person at bay. Peter nonetheless approached the man with some caution but he knew what he needed to do.

"Spare some change would you," said the homeless man. As he moved to raise up his hand Peter could see all the stains on his coat. To him it was nothing more than a nuisance that he could stomach.

"I'll give you some change," replied Peter. "Hell I'll even give you enough money to last you for a few months but I'm going to need something off of you."

"How much are we talking about?" He wasn't a fool as he had seen how people liked to trick homeless people just to post the videos on the internet.

"Let's say one hundred dollars." He took a clean, new one hundred dollar bill from his pocket and instantly the homeless man's eyes opened wider. It had been some time since he had seen a genuine hundred dollar bill.

"For a hundred bucks I'd stripe down and dance for you."

"Oh that won't be necessary." He had a smile on his face but rather than being the lovely smile that he gave to Gwen this one seemed to be more sinister.

"Then name it, what do you want?" He was eager to get that hundred dollars since he knew that would last him some time.

"It's you that I want."

The homeless man became confused but he watched in horror as a black gooey substance covered the entirety of Peter's body. There was a white spider like symbol on his chest but his eyes were now covered by large white spots and his teeth had become sharpened. The homeless man went to shout in fear but before he could tentacles extended from Peter's chest and grabbed him. The Homeless Man struggled for a moment but soon he was brought into Peter's chest.

It seemed that the homeless man had completely absorbed into Peter and within moments there was nothing left of him. The life of this man had finally ended but many would have considered that it ended some time before. Peter just stood where he was for a few moments but eventually he reverted back to his original appearance. There was no trace of the homeless man at all, it was as if he had never existed and it was very likely that he wouldn't have been missed.

"Now that really hit the spot," said Peter as he seemed to be happy with what he had just done. "That should tie me over until later."

Peter looked at where the homeless man had been. He stood there silent for a few moments before turning around and walking away as if nothing had happened. It was easy for him to detach himself from the situation as to him nothing had actually happened. He had simply done what he had needed to do and a part of him and he had even thought that he had done a public service. He was close to finally getting what he had wanted and all he had to do now was wait.

A short time later Gwen was sitting in her room and she had hung up her Spider-Woman costume in front of her. She looked at it up and down and rather than just seeing a collection of clothes she saw what was another side of herself. The side that was doing good in the city but was hated all the same. She thought about what her life would have been like if she had never been bitten by the spider on that fateful day.

Gwen could remember it as if it were yesterday. At a local science convention there had been a section on the reduction of radioactivity. Peter Parker had wanted to go but he didn't particularly want to go alone. He had asked Gwen to go along with him and since he was her best friend she had been more than happy to go with him.

When they had gotten to the convention Peter had been like a kid in a candy shop as everything in the convention fascinated him. He would have loved to have spent the rest of his life there but alas he knew that he could not. Gwen on the other hand was a little bored, she did know a thing or two about science but the topics of the convention was science that she simply couldn't wrap her head around. She felt that she needed a PHD just to understand what was being talked about.

Eventually Peter had been drawn to a demonstration of radioactivity by a Professor Chen Lu who was an expert in the field. He was demonstrating a process that he had invented that he hoped would be able to eradicate radioactivity if any were to escape into the atmosphere. If given the right amount of funding he hoped that he could use the process to disperse the radioactivity around places like Chernobyl and make it habitable for human life again. There had been other instances where his technique would be effective and for any future nuclear accidents.

The demonstration had begun with Professor Chen unveiling a fairly large block of stone which was radioactive. It had been placed inside a special clear box so that the onlookers didn't have to worry about being infected by the radioactivity. For a brief moment Professor Chen did open the box but he made sure that everyone was a certain distance back from it to be safe. There was even another clear wall to ensure the safety of the onlookers. He demonstrated that it was radioactive using a Giger counter which showed that it was indeed radioactive.

What everyone didn't know was when the stone was removed a small spider had climbed onto the stone. For a moment it was exposed to more radiation than it could have hoped to have survived but somehow it did. It simply fell onto the floor and moved towards the unsuspecting onlookers.

Everyone was too drawn to what Professor Chen was doing to even notice something so small and seemingly insignificant as the spider walking along the floor. Gwen had been watching Professor Chen and she did take a small amount of interest. She didn't need a PHD to know about radioactivity and the negative effects it had on humans. A process to disperse it would be great for the world as a whole.

Gwen had been standing next to a wall as well which the spider had begun to crawl up. It didn't take long for it to get high enough but unfortunately Gwen accidentally knocked it with her hand. This caused the small creature to fall onto her hand and only moments later she had felt a sharp pain in that area. When she looked she had seen the spider on her hand and quickly she knocked it off. She had no idea how much her life would change after just a simple bite, it seemed like nothing at first but soon she realised that it was much more than that.

Not too long after returning home from the convention Gwen began to feel ill and had even spent three days in bed. Her father was close to take her to hospital but almost as suddenly as the illness had started it ended. At first she thought that it had been a simple illness but she discovered that there were a few changes that went along with it.

Gwen could still remember looking at her body after her illness had faded and she discovered that she looked slightly more muscular than she did before. She didn't look like a bodybuilder but it did look like she exercised a lot. Before the illness she would sometimes get an aching sensation in her left ankle after an injury that she had suffered some years before. That ache had now completely disappeared but in its place she had received so many more things that she hadn't fully discovered them all herself.

The first thing that Gwen had noticed was that she was much stronger than she was before. She had almost pulled the door off of its hinges when she had tried to open it. She also discovered that her reaction reflex had significantly increased as she had been able to catch a fly that had been buzzing by her face. Thankfully unlike most spiders she didn't eat the fly and simply let it go on its way.

Not too long after realising that the spider bit had changed her Gwen made her way to an old dock that was disused. There she began to test her abilities and she was amazed by what she could do, she had been able to jump onto the roof of the warehouse in a single leap which for a human was impossible.

That was not the only extent of her abilities, there was plenty of large pieces of scrap metal lying around and she discovered that she was able to lift it with some ease. Her strength was in the superhuman level but she knew that there were plenty of super beings out there that were stronger than her.

Probably the oddest of her additional abilities had been discovered when she had been drawn to the wall of warehouse. She didn't know why but something inside of her mind had told her to place her hands on the wall. As soon as she placed her finger tips to the wall she discovered that they were sticking on. Curiosity got the better of her as she began to climb up the wall and it wasn't until she got to the ceiling that it fully sunk in just what she was doing. She had just been climbing up the walls and in a way it creeped her out, she had seen a film not too long ago where one of the main characters had been able to stick to walls. That film didn't have a particular happy ending and she began to think that the same thing might happen to her.

After a while Gwen saw that her body hadn't changed again and she thought that it was the end of her transformation. It was around that time that she thought about how to profit from her newfound abilities. Unlike her later goal to make New York City as crime free as possible she had only wanted to use her new abilities to make herself rich and famous. This was around the time that she created her costume which had took her some time to design. The only reason why she had decided to wear a mask was so that she didn't have to worry about her father recognising her.

Gwen thankfully knew how to work her way around a sewing machine and in a relatively short amount of time she was able to make her own costume using an old track suit which she had hardly worn and just made a few alterations. The webbing on her arms and hood had just been a little something extra that she had fashioned just to make it look more interesting and make it memorable for people to see her.

There was one other little advantage that Gwen had found with her additional reflexes. It had increased her talents with a drum kit. Before she was a moderately good drummer but it was nothing to write home about, after the spider bit she could play the drums better than almost anyone on the planet. Her hands moved so fast that it was easy for a person watching to lose track of them. Even for the Mary Janes she would slow the beat down just so that the other members of the band could keep up. Sometimes she would just drum as fast as she could just for fun.

The pleasure that came with the spider abilities soon faded when Gwen fought the lizard like Peter Parker who had turned himself into that monster to try and be special like her. When he was dying in her arms she promised to use her powers to help people in whatever way she could. She still strived to keep the promise but she had to admit to herself that it was very difficult.

Gwen continued to sit there and look at her costume, she even reached out and touched it. It was strange in her mind to think that it actually belonged to her. When she was younger she never envisioned herself to be a superheroine, just some normal person who slayed dragons for a living.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt her skin crawling around her abdomen. It was a strange feeling and she knew that it wasn't normal. The sensation lasted for a few seconds before subsiding but it definitely made her feel uneasy. She even went as far as to take off her top and look at herself in the mirror. She looked at her abdomen and it looked perfectly fine, like she expected it looked more athletic than a normal abdomen but other than that there was nothing to pick out. She began to believe that what she had just experienced was in her head and not an actual illness.

Before Gwen could fully think through what had just happened she heard her phone begin to ring. She hadn't been expecting any phone calls but when she looked at the caller ID she saw that it was Liz. Quickly Gwen picked up the phone and accepted the call, it would be nice to hear from her.

"Hi Liz," said Gwen. "What's up?"

"Hey there Gwen," replied Liz on the other end of the phone. "I just wondered if you want to hang out today. I was going to do a bit of shopping and I wondered if you wanted to come along?"

"I can do, I'm not up to anything right now." She was a little low on money but window shopping wouldn't hurt. "Although my funds at this point in time consists of a single five dollar bill and three quarters."

"That's fine, believe me if you want to borrow a few bucks I'm more than happy to oblige." There was a hint of happiness in her voice which Gwen wasn't expecting. It was nice to hear from the change of bad guys trying to kill her.

"Ok that's great, so did you want me to meet you at the mall or somewhere like that?" That seemed the most logical place to meet although for Gwen it would involve a relatively long walk.

"Yeah we'll meet just outside of Wilma's and don't worry about spotting me, everyone does."

"Ok I'll see you there in around half an hour?"

"Yeah sure, see you then."

Gwen put the phone down and she looked at her costume once again. Something inside of her told her that she was going to need it and most of the time her instincts had proven to be true. She knew that she would be going back to on her promise to her father but she felt that it was important.

Suddenly Gwen heard the phone ringing again but rather than it being her own phone it was the house phone instead. George picked it up and Gwen heard him talking for a few moments before putting the phone back down.

"Gwen!" shouted George from the bottom of the stairs. From his tone she could tell that he wasn't angry at her and just wanted to grab her attention. Quickly she moved towards the top of the stairs.

"Yeah what is it?" replied Gwen.

"I've gotta go back to work, something's just come up and they need me there. I'm not sure when I'll be back."

"I might be out when you're back."

"Just be sure to lock the house up before you go."

Gwen picked up a few other items before stepping out of her house. This included a backpack which contained her Spider-Woman costume and her web shooters. She knew that she had made a promise to her father but something inside of her told her that she should take it. She also picked up her phone and a few other items before leaving the house, she did say goodbye to George before she left.

Half an hour later Gwen found herself outside of Wilma's at the nearby mall. She didn't have to wait long until she spotted Liz approaching, as she expected Liz was easy to spot thanks to her towering height. She was taller than practically every woman around her and most men. Gwen found it funny that once Liz was considered to be short until she had the mother of all growth spurts. It gave her a long frame that seemed ideal for modelling but Liz hadn't wanted to use her body like that. Ever since she was a girl she had wanted to work with animals and although she would be the first person to admit that she wasn't smart enough to be a vet there were other career choices for her.

Liz was wearing cream top with blue trousers which were complimented with a pair of white sneakers. The look suited her well and she had her hair down, she thought that if she cut her hair people might mistake her for a man. That was one of the worst things that she thought could happen with her height.

"Hey Gwen," said Liz as she approached Gwen. She had a smile on her face as she walked towards her and Gwen was beginning to have to crane her head up to look at her. There was close a foot in height difference between the two women although Gwen didn't want to tell Liz about when she had been accidentally enlarged.

"Hi Liz," replied Gwen. She quickly stopped herself as she realised that saying hi was the same as saying high and Liz might be offended. But the tall girl seemed to take no notice as she approached her.

"I'm glad that you came." By now Liz was a short distance from her but she stayed where she was. She wanted to respect Gwen's space and she felt that she was as close as she should get. "Wandering around the mall all by yourself is not the most fun way to spend an afternoon."

"Well I wasn't up to much today. I don't have band practice until tomorrow and I probably would have just sat in my room all day. But as I said I'm a little broke right now so window shopping is all I can really do."

"I wouldn't really know that." It was true as Liz's family were quite wealthy. They weren't millionaires or anyone who could throw away cash as if it was going out of fashion but she still had enough to make her life more comfortable than the norm. One thing that Gwen liked about Liz was the fact that she didn't rub her wealth in people's faces. She was a very down to Earth character that Gwen couldn't help but respect. "If you see something that you really, really like I might give you a loan."

"Hopefully it doesn't have to come to that."

For the next twenty minutes or so the two women made their way around Wilma's which was a store which specialised in clothing for women. Both girls didn't want to buy anything in particular. Gwen was for the fact that she didn't have the money and there was nothing that really shouted out to her, for Liz it was the simple fact that there was nothing in her size. This was not that big of a problem for her since she knew the location of a great big and tall women's fashion store a few miles away. To her it had been a godsend after she had outgrown most other fashion stores.

Gwen seemed to be a little distant as she thought about Peter. She didn't want to say anything about him to Liz since she had known this reality's Peter Parker as well. They had never known each other on a real personal level but seeing someone that she knew died walking around would be quite strange.

There was one thing that Liz did try on in the store and that was a sunhat that she had spotted on a nearby rack. Thankfully hats was something that she could comfortably try on and she looked towards Gwen. The shorter girl seemed to be distracted as Liz turned to her. She had a smile on her face while Gwen had a vague look on her face as she was somewhat looking into space.

"Hey Gwen what do you think of this?" asked Liz. She could see that Gwen wasn't really paying attention. "Earth to Gwen."

"W-what?" replied Gwen as she snapped back to reality. She could see Liz standing before her with the hat on her head.

"I was just asking if you thought that this hat looked good on me." She adjusted the hat to make it more comfortable. "Give me your honest opinion."

"I think it looks nice but isn't the summer almost over?"

"That's the best thing, since it's going out of season they've slashed the price on it. I might have to wait a while until I can wear it but at this price it would be a crime not to buy it." She might have been fairly well off but Liz wasn't above saving a few dollars every now and again.

"If you like it then you should buy it. Me personally I'm more of a cap girl rather than a summer hat."

For the next minute or so Gwen waited for Liz as she queued up and bought the hat. The two women began to walk through the mall and although a few heads turned towards them every now and again they didn't take any notice. Most of the attention was being pointed towards Liz but if everyone knew the truth about Gwen she would be the centre of attention. But that was definitely something that she didn't want to get known by the general public. Her life and that of her father would be ruined forever.

"Is everything alright?" asked Liz as the two women walked. She looked down at Gwen who walked right beside her on her left.

"Yeah I'm fine," replied Gwen who looked up at her friend. "Why do you ask?"

"Well you seem to be in a world of your own. Not that there's anything wrong with that it's just that the fun Gwen I know seems to have disappeared."

"Oh it's nothing really, I've just been thinking, that's all." She tried to pass it off as being nothing but Liz's concern kept her going.

"About what?" She then realised that Gwen had gone to see her male friend the previous night. She had practically forgotten all about it until that instant. "Is it about what happened last night?"

"Yeah you could say so." This little bit of information she wasn't shy about telling Liz about it.

"He didn't do anything that you were uncomfortable with?" The concern in her voice grew. Her question could range from a minor incident all the way up to a crime that could land someone some serious jail time.

"No everything went fine. I'm just thinking what to do now, it's more complicated than you think and if I stood here and told you I would be here until I was blue in the face and you would probably need a PHD."

Before Gwen could go any further she felt her spider sense begin to tingle. Unlike before it was not just a passing feeling but a full blown alert to danger. She had a feeling that before the trip was done she would need to become Spider-Woman once again.


	6. Chapter 6: Juggernaut!

Gwen Stacy's spider sense was tingling like crazy and she looked around to see what the danger could be. She was with her friend Liz who for the moment was oblivious to any danger. Gwen knew that something was setting off her spider sense but for the moment she couldn't see what it was. This made her feel very nervous and she feared that something terrible was about to happen.

Suddenly both women heard what seemed to be a crashing sound and Gwen's spider sense only increased as the crashing continued. She was not the only one to hear it as others around them began to become concerned about it. Gwen even began to hear screaming from the floor below where the two girls were standing.

Quickly she made her way towards the railing and when she looked down she could see people running away in panic. Standing below them was a man who was roughly ten feet tall with the largest muscles that Gwen had ever seen. He wore mainly an orange and brown outfit which included knuckledusters and a large helmet which obscured his face. This was not to hide his identity but to protect him from mental attacks.

Gwen only needed a moment to recognise who this man was. He was a superpowered being known as the Juggernaut who could possibly be the strongest person on the planet. Last she had heard he had been captured some time ago. To see him here now was a complete surprise and she had no idea why he was even here.

The truth of the matter was that Juggernaut was being transferred from Ryker's Island to another prison not far away which had been specially built to house him. Unfortunately during the transfer process he had seen an opportunity and been able to escape. Right now he was just running in any direction to try and ensure his freedom. The mall just happened to be in the way of his path.

Gwen looked down at him for a moment and she thought about just letting it slide. She knew that she would be going back on her word if she became Spider-Woman again but right now she saw that innocent people were in jeopardy. She also knew that if she let him escape and he ended up harming someone she would blame herself.

Quickly Liz ran up to her and looked over the railing and she saw the Juggernaut as well. Both women could see that he was taking a moment to catch his breath which was something that was unusual for him. Thanks to his near limitless strength he was able to just keep running without getting tired. However the technology that the authorities use to steal his strength had not fully faded away. He was still incredibly strong but he was not yet up to his full strength that would be something that would happen the longer that he was free from his restraints.

"Gwen what the hell is that?" asked Liz with some fear in her voice. Unlike Gwen she wasn't used to dealing with superpowered beings on a regular basis. Especially someone as powerful as the Juggernaut.

"Trouble," replied Gwen as she decided in her mind that only by becoming Spider-Woman again could she ensure the safety of Liz and the other shoppers. "Liz I need you to do me a favour, go to the front entrance and wait for me."

"But what about you?" The terror in her voice hadn't subsided as she feared that the worst might happen.

"There's something I need to do before I can leave. I promise that I'll be back with you soon." She placed her hand on Liz's shoulder which was a bit of a reach. "Can you do that for me?"

"Y-yeah sure." She was very nervous but she couldn't understand why Gwen couldn't leave with her. She knew that it was a bad situation and she wanted to get to safety as quickly as she could.

"Great, I'll see you in a minute." Quickly Gwen moved away to what she hoped to be a private. The majority of the shoppers had already fled out of the mall so she felt that she didn't have to worry about people spotted her. She unzipped her backpack and took out her Spider-Woman costume. She had second thoughts for a moment but ultimately decided that she should put it on.

Gwen had gotten in and out of the costume so many times that she could do it almost superhumanly fast. She also made sure that her web shooters were properly fixed onto her arms but there was something else that she carried around with her. This was the vial of Van Dyne Particles that she had been given after her whole enlargement fiasco. She still remembered that if she used them they would only last around half an hour so she would only use it in an emergency. She kept them safely tucked away on her costume and she was ready to use it if the situation called for it.

For the first time for a few days Spider-Woman was back and quickly she went back to the railing where she had first spotted the Juggernaut. She knew that he hadn't left since she hadn't heard any more crashing noise of him running through doors or walls. He was still catching his breath and at first he didn't notice her, she knew that he had to stop him now before he ran away.

"Hey big boy!" shouted Spider-Woman from her vantage point. She watched as he looked up to where she was crouching. She was on top of the railing but her abilities allowed her to stick onto it. "I know that this mall might have some great sales but I don't think you're supposed to be here for another ten or fifteen years."

"SPIDER-WOMAN!" shouted Juggernaut. To Spider-Woman this had been a shout but in reality it was the Juggernaut's normal voice. "I'M IN NO MOOD TO BE DEALING WITH A HACK LIKE YOU!"

"A hack?" Quickly she leapt down to the ground and as she did she began to web Juggernaut's feet to the ground. This would be nothing more than a minor inconvenience but to her it was a start. "You really know how to offend a girl, maybe that's the reason why you were sent to jail."

She began to leap around him and as she did she was covering him with more and more web. She was moving so fast that it was hard for him to keep up and within moments his body was completely wrapped up by Spider-Woman's webbing. Only his head was still unwrapped but at this point in time the Juggernaut hadn't even tried to move. All the while Spider-Woman had been throwing insults as she normally would which would keep her opponents off balance.

"Now I think that's a good luck for you," said Spider-Woman after she had finished webbing the Juggernaut up. She was confident of victory and with no cameras around she thought that no one would know that she was there. Her webbing would probably give it away but just as long as she was back to being Gwen Stacy before anyone showed up she thought that she was safe.

"DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" asked Juggernaut who was none too pleased with what had happened. "I'M THE JUGGERNAUT BITCH!"

With that Juggernaut flexed his arms and almost instantly the webbing around him began to break apart. He made such a difficult act look so easy as more and more of his former strength was returning to him. If he were at full strength Spider-Woman wouldn't stand that much of a chance.

Spider-Woman saw what happened quickly jumped back as she knew that her fight with the Juggernaut was only just beginning. She just watched as he began to charge at her and she could feel every footstep he took in the ground beneath her. Quickly she leapt over him and he went crashing into a nearby kiosk that had been abandoned by its owner upon sight of the intimidating Juggernaut.

"Ole!" shouted Spider-Woman as she landed on the ground. She acted as if this was all a game but it was part of her plan to keep Juggernaut disorientated. "I gotta say you're slower than I remember."

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" replied the Juggernaut in a voice that still seemed to be a shout. "NOW GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Juggernaut ran towards Spider-Woman again who was able to jump out of the way again. This time however she could see that he hadn't been particularly aiming at her and instead was just trying to get out of the building and continue on his way to freedom. He knew that it wouldn't be long until the police showed up and in his weakened state he thought that they had a chance of victory.

Spider-Woman saw that Juggernaut was fleeing and she knew that she couldn't let him escape. Quickly she fired some of her webbing which attached itself to his back, she didn't try to pull him back as she didn't have the strength. Her own strength was still superhuman but still nowhere near that of the Juggernaut. Instead she just pulled on the webbing to shoot herself closer to him.

A moment later she landed on his back which had been a large enough target for her. She found herself sticking onto his back as if it had been a solid brick wall. This was exactly what she wanted and she had to go through the next stage of her plan. She knew that his only weak spot was his head but it was protected by a strong helmet.

Quickly Spider-Woman began to undo the clasps that kept the helmet attached to the Juggernaut. She was making some progress but her efforts hadn't gone unnoticed, he was still running but he used one of his arms to try and grab her. She was constantly having to dodge his hands while also trying to take the helmet off. It was not an easy task, even with her powers.

"GET OFF OF ME YOU FREAK!" stated the Juggernaut as he continued to run. He wasn't outside of the mall yet but he was almost there.

"Says the steroid poster child," replied Spider-Woman as she successfully undid another clasp. There were only a couple remaining but they were on the front. "Now tell me why you like to keep your head covered. Is it because you have a face that only a grandma could love?" This was still her mocking him and her taunts seemed to be working as he became angrier.

"MY GRANDMA'S A GOD DAMN SAINT!"

He went to grab her once again but as he did she flipped over him and made sure that stuck on the top of his helmet. She looked down into his eyes and to him she was upside down. His annoyance with her was only increasing with practically every movement that she made. All he saw her as was some annoying bug that needed to be crushed.

"Here's web in your eyes," said Spider-Woman with a spring in her voice as she fired some of her webbing into the eyes of the Juggernaut. He still continued to run and he knew that as long as he went in one direction nothing would be able to stop him.

Spider-Woman could see that they were heading towards a wall and she needed to work quickly so that she could remove his helmet before he struck it. This was certainly a difficult task as Juggernaut was running very fast but it just meant that she would have to work even quicker.

Quickly Spider-Woman climbed a little further over the helmet and she began to undo the two clasps that were on the front. In moments she knew that she would be crushed and it was a great motivator to make her work even faster. She was just able to undo both clasps before she crawled back onto his back just as he struck the wall. As expected it smashed his way through it without much effort.

Spider-Woman could feel fresh air as she realised that she and the Juggernaut were now outside where everyone could see them. Already she could hear the siren of police as they approached the area. There were also some screams of panic from the people around them, She knew that she needed to end this fast before anything else happened.

The Juggernaut continued to run and Spider-Woman grabbed onto his helmet and began to pull with all of her might. He was still blinded by her webbing and was literally running in a straight line since nothing could stop him. Even if there had been a tank he would have just barged right through it as if it were made out of paper.

It only took a couple of moments before Juggernaut's helmet was pulled off and Spider-Woman could see his head. He had short red hair but the main detail that she noticed was the fact that his head was actually smaller than she had expected. It was larger than a normal head but in comparison to the rest of his body it looked comically.

"Hey Juggernaut I would tell you to stop being big headed but now I see that it's impossible," said Spider-Woman with a chuckle. All this was still adding to the Juggernaut's annoyance of her.

"GET OFF OF ME!" replied the Juggernaut. He still couldn't really see where he was going but right now that didn't seem to matter.

"Nope can't do that." She then began to punch him in the head in hopes of slowing him down. "Besides your head does make the ideal punching bag." Over and over again she punched him and she noticed that the brute was beginning to slow down. In his weakened state he was actually feeling the punches that were coming. If he had been at full strength he would have been able to shake them off but in his current state this was simply something that he couldn't do.

Spider-Woman wasn't holding any of her punches and she could feel pain in her fists. Although the Juggernaut was weakened it still felt like she was punching a brick wall. She thought that she would have some bruising on her hands after she was done and she just hoped that it wouldn't affect her drumming skills.

After what seemed to be a thousand punches Juggernaut finally stopped where he was and began to fall forwards. Spider-Woman shouted the infamous word 'Timber' just as the mountain of a man fell. She leapt off of him and landed safely on the ground just as he fell. She could feel a small earthquake but in the end everything seemed to be fine as the Juggernaut was knocked unconscious.

"Spider-Woman one, the guy with more muscles than brains, zero," said Spider-Woman as she saw that she had achieved victory. She began to web his hands and feet to the ground so that he couldn't escape. She could still hear the police coming so she made sure to make herself scarce so that she too wasn't arrested.

Spider-Woman made her way back to the mall and she landed in a nearby alley. She took a quick look around to see whether it was deserted or not. She couldn't see anyone so she quickly began to change her clothing so that to the world at large she would be Gwen Stacy once again.

The rush that she had felt from defeating the Juggernaut was making her forget about her illness but she did remember about Liz who was still waiting for her. Quickly she made her way to the main entrance where she knew that her friend was waiting for her and thanks to her height she was easy to spot in the crowd. Before Gwen had actually gone anywhere she made sure that her Spider-Woman costume was back in her backpack so that no one knew that she and the costumed vigilante were one in the same.

As Gwen approached Liz she pretended to be really out of breath as if she had just ran. The truth was that she wasn't too fatigued but she thought that it would be more convincing if she seemed tired. Gwen had done a couple of acting roles when she was a toddler in some commercials and it was a skill that she would have to use from time to time. It did help when the situation called for it.

"Oh thank God Gwen you're here," said Liz as she saw Gwen approaching her. She gave a huge sigh of relief as she feared that something might have happened to her. "I was beginning to think the worst."

"You should know by now that I can look out for myself," replied Gwen with a smile on her face.

"Where did you go anyway?" She couldn't figure out where Gwen could have gone during a crisis like that.

"Oh I had to make sure that something was alright." She knew that she wasn't making the most convincing argument as she was having to think on her feet. "I just wanted to be sure that others got to safety."

"That sounds very noble of you." There was a small amount of suspicion in her voice but she didn't think that she would need to take it further. She did look to the mall and it was obvious that their shopping trip had come to an abrupt end. "But it looks like we're going to have to change our plans."

"We could just take a walk around and talk if you like. It's a nice day and we still have some time to kill."

"Yeah we can do." She wasn't too fond of the idea of walking but right now it seemed to be the best option. "I know a great place to eat which is about a twenty minute walk from here. You won't have lived until you're tried their chicken special."

There were a few more words exchanged between the two ladies before they started the walk towards the restaurant. Gwen was basically following Liz's lead and they talked about things about each other and others that they knew. Liz had no idea that Gwen's biggest secret was hiding in her backpack and that she had been the one who had stopped the Juggernaut from escaping.

One thing that Gwen and Liz didn't know was the fact that they were being watched. From high above on the buildings Peter Parker was watching them. He looked down and was surprised to see Gwen walking with Liz. It took him a few moments to recognise her as in his reality she had been much shorter. He had half a mind to go down there and confront the girls but instead he wanted to wait. He just calmly followed them and he made sure that he was far enough away for them not to see him. With Gwen's abilities there was a good chance that her spider sense would detect him so by keeping his distance he felt that he might get around this problem.

For the moment Peter's hunger had been satisfied but it wouldn't be long before he hungered again and would need to feed. The symbiote that called his body home had an insatiable appetite that was always gnawing at him at every second of every day. There had been numerous benefits to having the symbiote such as the increase in his abilities but the hunger was the largest drawback.

Peter just crawled along the walls and made sure that the two women were always in his sights. It was almost like a big game of cat and mouse that he was playing and but it wasn't a game.

Oblivious to what was happening Gwen and Liz reached restaurant that had been mentioned. Gwen had expected to see a decent restaurant which wealthy people would have liked to have visited. Instead it was just a normal looking café that the average person could more than easily afford.

Gwen could see that Liz had a smile on her face as they looked at it. If anything the café seemed to have a classic nineteen fifties feel to it with its metallic looking exterior and there even seemed to be a car fixed to the pavement just outside of the café. It was the type that Gwen had seen in old movies and it was something that screamed classic America. It did give the café an interesting look which definitely drew attention.

The two women entered the café and so Peter had to move so that he could still see them. Rather than entering the café he instead moved down to the ground and into a spot where he could still see inside but he was hard to spot. He saw Gwen and Liz sitting down on at a table and he smiled as all he had to do was watch.

As Gwen sat down she looked at the menu and she saw that there seemed to be some classic American dishes on there that she would have expected to find in a place like this. One thing that she noticed as she looked was that the prices were quite dear. It was nowhere near the same as a high end restaurant but still more money than she had on her person. It was times like this she wished that she had a real job that paid money, it was great being a member of the Mary Janes but unfortunately a steady income was not one of the advantages to being in the band.

"Wow this is more expensive than I expected," said Gwen as she felt the money in her pocket. She thought that she would just have enough to get something to eat but not much more after that.

"If its money that's worrying you I'll pay for whatever you're having," replied Liz as she had a small piece of plastic in her purse that would be able to pay for anything they could want here.

"Are you sure? I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"Don't worry about it, just don't go crazy alright."

Gwen smiled back as a waitress approached the pair. As expected the waitress was dressed up in classic nineteen fifties clothing. She was a pretty girl with a lot of make up on and it seemed that this was all to go along with the style of the café. Gwen had to give the people running it a ten out of ten for effort. She could see how people would be attracted to such a place. She thought her father would like it since he was a fan of some of the B rated science fiction and horror films from that region. Gwen had watched a few of them with him and she had always laughed at the special effects in them. They had always been terrible and in a way that was what gave those films their charm.

Both women ordered the chicken special and once again they decided to talk to one another. It was going to be a fairly long wait for the food to be ready, Liz was still feeling a little nervous after the Juggernaut's attack at the mall. For her it was something that she had never seen before and hoped to never see again. Superpowered battles was something that she wouldn't mind seeing on TV but she would never want to get caught in the middle of one. Not unless she had her own superpowers.

"So how is everything going in the Mary Janes?" asked Liz as she remembered about Gwen's band. "I heard that you guys were having a bit of a rocky period."

"Well we're still going strong but there is a little tension," replied Gwen. "You know how MJ is, if it's not done perfectly she has to tear it down and start it all over again. I swear if that girl ever became the head of state we'd be living in a dictatorship." Both women laughed a little, Liz didn't need to be told about how bossy Mary Jane Watson could be. She had known her in school and it seemed that she hadn't changed at all.

"I can imagine, I don't know how you have the patience to deal with her outbursts. If it were me I would have walked out of the band years ago."

"Well I do have the patience of a saint but sometimes you just gotta take what she says with a pinch of salt. If you took everything that she said to heart you would be crying every time you met her."

"Oh I see, I do hope the four of you make it big. I've been to a few of your concerts and I can see that you have talent. Your drum solos are better than any professional drummer that I've ever head. I would suggest that you have a solo career but to tell you the truth I don't know any drummers with solo careers."

"Yeah besides Mary Jane is convinced that it's only a matter of time before we land a big record deal and are making millions. I want to believe her but to tell you the truth I have my doubts."

"Well that's understandable, I guess for every one band that make it big there's like a hundred who don't. It's important to have that spark that separates you from the other hopefuls." Gwen could see a lot of logic behind her words and she also noticed that she was a lot calmer now. When Juggernaut struck she had been panicking much like everyone else but now thankfully she seemed to have calmed down.

"Well I hope that the Mary Janes have the spark, I don't know what MJ would do with her life if we didn't get a record deal. Let's just say that her mouth has been writing cheques that she's been struggling to cash."

Both women laughed and they didn't have to wait too much longer for the waitress to return with their order. Gwen could see the tasty looking Chicken Surprise that she had ordered and she couldn't help but to dig in. The fight against the Juggernaut had made her hungrier than she had expected. She just hoped that she wouldn't gain any weight and that her appetite was something natural. She did consider that she might be having a late growth spurt although for a girl her age this was unlikely but not unheard of. If she was growing she wouldn't be anywhere near as tall as she had been when she was exposed to the Van Dyne Particles. It was an experience that she would never forget.

Peter still watched them from outside. He was sure to be in the shadows so that he couldn't be seen very well by Gwen and Liz. He also made sure that he looked inconspicuous so that he didn't draw any unwanted attention from anyone who just happened to be passing by. He had his focus squarely on the café and especially the window that the two women were sitting at. The world passed him by and no one realised just what he was planning or even the fact that just his very presence there was a scientific marvel.

Rather than rushing into things Peter wanted to take things a lot slower as he was a man who was in no rush. He had been preparing for this for some time and to him it was all just a game, he would just do what he felt that he needed to do and then he would jump to another reality and start the process over. He hoped to keep going over and over again for as long as he wanted.

Like Gwen Peter was hungry but unfortunately his hunger couldn't be satisfied with food. He needed to drain the life force of a person just like he had done with the homeless man previously and there were some people who just simply tasted better than others. The homeless man had left a nasty feeling in his belly but it would soon pass and the best course was to come.

For several minutes Peter was just watching and waiting until he felt it was the best time to strike. Carefully he waited but he found himself slowly walking towards the café. There was a road that he needed to cross but rather than using the allotted crossing he just ran across the road when there weren't any cars that were passing. If a policeman had of been there he probably would have been booked for jaywalking but it seemed that there were no men or women of the law present. Everyone else didn't really take any notice and just carried on with their lives.

Peter found himself just outside of the café and a smile appeared on his face. He could whispering in his ear and this only made his smile grow. Both he and the alien symbiote were looking forward to what was going to happen next. This was not the first time that they had done something like this and if they had it their way it was not going to be the last.


	7. Chapter 7: Showdown

Gwen and Liz were continuing to talk inside of the café and they had no idea that this symbiote infested Peter Parker was standing outside. They were just talking about a few odd things as they ate, Liz mentioned about the nightmare of finding clothes in her size while Gwen mentioned about the fact that they had just gotten through a super villain encounter without any injury. Both women were having a good laugh at this and it seemed that nothing would be able to spoil their moment.

It was only when they had finally finished eating their food did Peter Parker decide to make his move. He stepped up to the door of the café and casually just walked in. His sudden appearance had caught the attention of one of the waitresses who just assumed that he was there to get a table. She walked over to him as for that moment she didn't have anyone else that she needed wait for.

"Can I get you a table sugar?" asked the waitress as she expected Peter to say yes. Instead he just calmly walked passed her.

"No I can find my own thanks," replied Peter in an uncomfortably calm voice. There was a coldness which brushed off on her and it sent a shiver down her spine. Something inside of her was telling her that she should stay away and in a way that was probably the best thing she could have done.

Peter continued to walk and when he was a short distance away from the table that the two women were sitting at Gwen's spider sense began to tingle. It caught her off guard as she had just took down one villain and the thought of having to fight another so soon afterwards was a thought that she was not particularly looking forward to. When she looked up she saw that it was Peter and this made her confused, it also made her feel worried since Liz had briefly known Peter as well.

"Good afternoon ladies," said Peter in what seemed to be a very polite voice. "Would you mind if I joined you?"

"E-Er sure," replied Gwen with some hesitation. Her spider sense was still tingling and it had only gotten stronger.

"Excuse me but who are you?" asked Liz as he looked at Peter who was just pulling up a chair.

"Oh how rude of me," replied Peter. His voice had not changed and although it was polite Liz thought that it was forced. "My name is Peter, Peter Parker and I must say that you've certainly changed from the last time I saw you."

"Wait I don't know you." Liz had only known one Peter Parker and he was dead. Gwen on the other hand had a very bad feeling about what was happening. She couldn't see any sense in what he was doing.

"I know that you wouldn't, let's just say that I knew you for the briefest of moments. It was probably so brief that you wouldn't have remembered me. That is a shame but understandable."

"And you say your name is Peter Parker? The only Peter Parker I knew died not too long ago."

"Oh believe me I know, there's nothing stranger than looking in the paper and seeing that someone with the same name as you have died. I thought it was some kind of joke at first but soon enough I discovered that this wasn't the case. Anyway it was something that was fun to mention to my colleagues afterwards." He then looked over to Gwen who looked at him with a strange look. She couldn't figure out what he was doing or even why he was using his real name.

"It wasn't funny," replied Gwen as she knew that if she didn't have this kind of reaction Liz might get suspicious. "He was my best friend."

"And for that I apologise, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings in any way." Despite his polite nature there was something that Liz was unsettled about. She just had a feeling that there was something about him that just wasn't right. For Gwen she didn't need to have a bad feeling, her spider sense was tingling like crazy and she could tell that Peter was the source. She had no idea what she was going to do but she definitely knew that something big was going to happen.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

"Well I just saw you two ladies and I thought I would best for time to come and say hello." A smile appeared on his face and Gwen's spider sense began to increase. It was giving her a headache.

"That's very kind of you but we were just about to leave after we finished."

"Oh come on Gwen, we could still have some fun."

"Wait he knows your name?" asked Liz when she realised that Peter knew Gwen. She had acted like she didn't know him but his knowledge of her name only furthered her suspicions of him.

"Of course, Gwen is a very popular girl." His smile only grew and the women couldn't see that the blackness of the symbiote suit was beginning to cover his skin underneath his clothing. It was out of the view of the two women as he was eager to do what he felt he needed to do.

"Actually I'm not all that hungry anymore, I think I should get going. It's been a hectic day and I think I might go and have a lie down." She went to stand up from the chair but she felt something sharp in her leg that made her sit back down.

"Nah I think its best that you stay."

"Peter what are you doing?" asked Gwen as she realised that there was more to him than she had known.

"I'm just doing what I feel is right." Suddenly the blackness of the symbiote covered Peter's entire body and the two women watched in horror. His transformation was noticed by others inside the café who went to make a quick getaway before everything went down the toilet. The transformations lasted only a few moments but by the end of it Peter looked like a monster. His teeth were sharpened and it almost seemed like he had oil covering the entirety of his body. "But the most important thing is that I'm hungry." His voice had also completely changed. Gone was the polite voice of Peter Parker and the monstrous voice of the symbiote had replaced it.

"Oh my God!" shouted Liz in complete panic after she saw what had happened. Now she truly felt that her life was going to end at the hands of this monster before her. Gwen was also scared of Peter but she was more heartbroken than anything else although she tried to hide it as much as she could. She had seen this Peter as a second chance to right the wrong that had led to the death of her own Peter. Now that seemed to be an impossibility as she saw that he was a monster.

"Liz get out of here now!" demanded Gwen as she wanted her friend to get as far away from this situation as she could.

"You ladies aren't going anywhere!" replied Peter as he prepared himself for what he had been preparing for, for so very long. "You Gwen will be the main course while Liz here will make a fine dessert."

Thankfully right by the side of Gwen was her backpack and inside was her costume. However at this moment in time she couldn't put it on but she did find something inside that would be useful.

"Please let her go it's me that you want," said Gwen as she was willing to sacrifice herself to make sure that Liz got away safely.

"That's just something I can't do. Now why don't you girls be good and accept your fate. You'll only make it harder on yourselves."

By now the café had completely emptied as everyone had left in a panic. Only the two women and Peter remained and there seemed to be no telling what would happen. Gwen had been able to attach one of her web shooters to her wrist but she knew that if she used it she would be giving away her secret identity to Liz. It was a risk that she was willing to take however.

Quickly Gwen lifted her hand up and sprayed Peter in his eyes with her webbing. This wouldn't do much to him but she also flipped the table right onto him. The monster had no time to really react as his face came into contact with the table at an unbelievable speed. Liz was probably the most surprised out of the pair as she was completely speechless over what was happening.

"Liz go now!" demanded Gwen who quickly stood up. "I promise I'll explain everything later but right now I need you out of the way."

Liz didn't say a word and simply nodded her head. She quickly got up from her seat and ran towards the exit. This was a relief for Gwen but she still had to deal with this monster who at one point was her best friend. She had to keep telling herself that this wasn't her Peter but an evil alternate version.

No sooner had Liz left the café Peter removed the table that had struck him and the odd thing was that he didn't seem to be mad. If anything he had enjoyed what had happened and was even laughing about it. His laugh sounded distorted and it sent a shiver down Gwen's spine. She had also attached her second web shooter but had not been given the time to put on her costume.

"I've gotta admit Gwen that was impressive," said Peter as he laughed. The inhuman manner that he moved his mouth only furthered the terror that Gwen was experiencing at that moment in time. "I didn't think that you had it in you."

"You'd be surprised with what I'm capable of," replied Gwen who felt betrayed over what had happened. She had genuinely believed that she had been given a second chance to be with Peter but that hope had been dashed. "I'm going to make sure that you hurt no one ever again."

With that she went to punch him but this time he was able to duck out of the way and respond with his own kick to her chest. She had only just gotten to her feet but now she found herself on the ground. She had been winded by the kick and she saw Peter walking over to her with some satisfaction. Just before he was able to reach her she leapt onto the ceiling above her and clung onto it. However this was not safe ground as she saw Peter do the exact same. He still laughed at her and she could see that the battle indeed was going to be deadlier than she expected.

"Oh come on Gwen," said Peter. "Did you really think that you could be safe from me up here? Did you forget that I have all of your powers and more?" He continued to laugh and to her it was like a nail on a chalkboard. "But by all means run and fight, you're just making the hunt that much more enjoyable for me. You're definitely the Gwen that'll be the most fun to consume."

"Wait what are you talking about?"

"Oh didn't I mention? Of course I didn't, the whole thing about my Gwen dying was all true but it was actually me that consumed her. Oh my God she was so delicious that I wanted to taste her again and again and again. Well the only problem with that was that I had killed the only Gwen in my reality so I decided to jump from one reality to another and consume every Gwen Stacy I could find. You don't realise just how hard that was girl, in most of the dimensions I travelled to you were already dead. Talk about being mortal, just the fact that you're here now is a miracle in itself."

"You're a monster." She was shocked with this confession but it was her heart which was breaking the most. "And I'm going to make sure that you don't hurt anyone else." Rather than fighting inside she decided that she needed to get outside and even put on her costume. She didn't have enough room inside the small café to be able to put up a decent fight so she had to put a plan into action.

Gwen quickly began to spray Peter with her webbing but it wasn't to try and keep him in one place but instead to keep him distracted. He did find himself pinned to the ceiling and quickly she leapt down to the ground and went out of the front door as fast as she could. She knew that the webbing wouldn't last for long.

There was a small alleyway behind the café which at that moment in time was completely empty. Gwen put her costume on in record time and she kept her Van Dyne Particles close just in case she needed them. She had become Spider-Woman yet again but it might very well be her last day on Earth.

No sooner had she gotten her costume on Peter burst out through the café doors. He didn't seem to be angry by what was going on but instead he seemed to be having fun. To him the thrill of the hunt was on and unlike other Gwen Stacys that he had killed this one was going to give him a decent fight. It only helped to make the situation more fun for him and more terrifying for her.

"Come out come out wherever you are," said Peter with joy in his voice. "I will find you eventually and then you will become one with me. Just like the others."

Spider-Woman was just above him and leapt down to him. As she jumped down she gave him a mighty kick to the side of his head which would have been enough to kill a person. Peter on the other hand only laughed.

"Yeah like I'd ever want to be one with you," replied Spider-Woman. She was using light insults and one liners more to keep herself from cracking rather than hurting or distracting Peter. "Sorry you're simply not my type."

"Oh this is going to be fun," replied Peter. "You've definitely been the most entertaining Gwen so far. I'm going to make your end slow."

"When you say slow do you mean like sixty years maybe?"

"No more like sixty seconds."

Just then Peter extended his arm and shot out the tar like black substance which was covering his entire body. Spider-Woman was able to jump out of the way at the last possible moment but she saw it tracking her. It was almost like the substance had a mind of its own as it changed course to try and strike her. This was when she realised just how much trouble she was in as she tried to web it up.

By this point Spider-Woman had landed back on the ground but she soon felt a sharp pain in her cheek. This was thanks to a quick slash by Peter who had been able to sharpen his fingertips until they were knife like. It did cut through the mask and a small amount of blood went onto his fingers. He then brought his fingers to his mouth and licked off the blood of Spider-Woman.

"Oh this is even sweeter than I expected," said Peter after taking the taste of blood. "I'm so going to enjoy consuming you."

"Hello I think most societies look down on the whole cannibalism thing," replied Spider-Woman who was still keeping her cool. She could see that fighting him head on was her only option at this point in time. "But believe me that's all you're going to get out of me." She darted forward and punched Peter in the gut. She jumped over him before he could react and struck him in the back as well. The quick movements had taken Peter by surprise as he could see that she was faster than he had expected. She quickly webbed his feet to the ground and then grabbed his head in a reverse headlock like manoeuvre before falling back and driving his head right into the ground below. It would have been enough to knock anyone out but not Peter. His own spider abilities and the symbiote suit allowed him to endure the hit without taking too much damage. All he did was get back up to his feet and rip them from the ground. He had a sadistic smile on face as he looked at Gwen.

"Now that wasn't very nice was it?" asked Peter as he chuckled. "I like it, you're making this a lot more fun than it should be."

"I'm glad you like it since I'm going to make it so fun that it might just kill you," replied Gwen who was terrified but was able to keep herself together.

"I thought that you didn't kill."

"With you I might make an exception."

Gwen went to punch Peter but he was able to grab her wrist and judo flipped her to the ground. Unfortunately when she struck the ground he didn't let go of her and she could feel the grip around her wrist tighten. The pain she felt was excruciating and it made her think about just how strong he was. She was able to flip her legs up and grab him around the head with it. She then flipped him to the ground using her legs and it caused him to let go of her wrist.

Quickly Gwen sat on top of Peter's chest and began to punch him repeatedly in the face. She hoped that it would be enough to put him out but when she punched him she could see that he was smiling. Her blows didn't seem to have an effect on him and this only made her that much more terrified.

Peter endured the blows for a few seconds before he pushed Spider-Woman off of his chest. He got back up to his feet and much to her horror he didn't seem to have any damage from her attack. It made her see that her tactics just weren't working and it made her truly fear for her life.

"Now that was interesting," said Peter as he calmly got back to his feet. "I'd give you an A for effort nothing more than that."

"If you think that I used my best attack then you're sadly mistaken." She was trying to think of something that she could use. She did seriously consider the Van Dyne Particles that were on her person but she was reluctant to use them. She would only use it if she didn't have any other choice.

"Oh, I'm just dying to see what you have up those little sleeves of yours. I could just die of excitement." He laughed at her and she began to think of some kind of plan of action. She could hear sirens as well and she knew if she stuck around there she would be arrested if she wasn't killed first.

Quickly Spider-Woman shot a string of webbing towards a nearby building and began to swing away. This only made Peter laugh again as he saw her trying to get away. He shot out his own webbing and began to follow her. She knew that he was following and she purposely didn't travel too fast so that he was able to keep up with her.

Spider-Woman was trying to find the best place to continue the fight but with an island as densely populated as Manhattan it was extremely difficult. She was also trying to think of a strategy to use against Peter. Nothing was coming up and she knew that everything that had made him Peter was gone and had been replaced with this monster.

Peter on the other hand wasn't too much in the mood for the chase and now wanted to eat his prey. He shot a sharp piece of webbing at Spider-Woman that struck her and sent her flying down to the ground.

Spider-Woman landed hard on the roof of a church and she felt a couple of her bones crack. She was in some pain but there was no time for her to catch her breath as Peter landed on the roof moments later. He walked towards her with confidence as he thought that the hunt was close to its end. This Gwen Stacy had been the most fun so far but now it seemed time to end it.

"Oh this is more fun than I could have possibly imagined," said Peter as he stepped towards her. With each step he took Spider-Woman's fear began to rise. "I hope that when I move on to another reality I'm going to find another Gwen like you." Slowly she got back up to her feet as he continued to walk towards her. "Of course any Gwen that I come across will be dead meat but still."

"You're not going to hurt anyone else." She took a step towards him but she could still feel pain from the fall. She wasn't sure but she thought that she might have a broken bone or two. "You've killed too many people and I'm going to make sure that it ends here and now." She went to punch him but her attack was too slow and he was more than easily capable of grabbing her arm.

With one might throw Spider-Woman found herself flying through a small window that was inside the church's bell tower. It had not hurt as much as the fall but she did find herself on some stairs. At this point in time panic was setting into her mind as she saw that her attacks were not working. Instead she made her way up the stairs and Peter followed her, he didn't even walk in a hurried pace. It was as if he was just going on a pleasure walk when in truth he was about to kill someone.

Eventually Spider-Woman reached the top of the bell tower and she found herself confronted by a huge bell and the backwards view of the clock. There were many cogs that were turning as the clock was fully operational. She wanted to try and use this place to her advantage but before she could do anything Peter arrived and he only laughed at her as he saw her backing into a wall.

"Admitting defeat so soon Gwen?" asked Peter as he saw her leaning up against a wall. "I have to say I thought that you'd go with a bigger bang."

"I'm not done yet," replied Spider-Woman. She went to shoot him with some webbing but he ducked out of the way and then placed his forearm over her neck. She could hardly breathe and she saw his free fist begin to sharpen into a blade.

"Well it's been fun but now it is time for you to die."

Peter laughed sadistically but just before he went to kill Spider-Woman the large bell behind them began to ring as it was exactly two o'clock. The sound caused Peter to cry in agony and he even backed off of Spider-Woman as he placed his hands on his ears. She also noticed that the substance on his body began to flare up when he bell had rung. At first she thought that this was another trick to lead her into a false sense of security. However she could see no reason for it and the fact that he looked to be in genuine agony only furthered her belief that he wasn't faking.

Spider-Woman looked over to the bell and she knew that it was her key to victory. With what strength she had left she lunged herself towards the bell and pushed it. This caused the bell to ring again and it only furthered the agony that Peter was experiencing. It hurt her to see him in pain but she just kept thinking to herself that this wasn't her Peter and was a monster.

"Stop it!" shouted Peter as he continued to rive in agony. "For the love of God stop that ringing."

"You who are without mercy are now pleading for it," replied Spider-Woman who could see that the battle was nearing its end. "How many people have you killed?" She pushed the bell again and it only furthered Peter's pain. "How many lives have you ruined in your made quest?" She pushed it again and by now Peter was curled up on the ground. The symbiote was trying to get away from the sound and it even seemed willing to give up its host to do so. "How many of your victims pleaded with you to stop but you to spare them and yet you killed them as if they were nothing. I always thought that there was some good in all people but now I see that some are just pure evil."

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll stop. I'll give myself up to the authorities, I'll do anything you want just please stop the ringing!" He was still rolling around as he was in agony. He allowed the symbiote to reveal his true face. "Please stop!" He was trying to win some sympathy from Spider-Woman as he wanted to show his real face. Unfortunately there was no sympathy from her.

"My Peter is dead."

She gave the bell another loud knock causing it to ring loudly once again. This caused Peter to continue to scream in agony and he saw that there was no chance of him winning this fight. He had pushed Spider-Woman too much and now he was having to face the consequences for his actions. She just continued to ring the bell and watched as he screamed, she did feel guilty over what was happening but she knew that he was a monster. Any kind of mercy shown to him would be thrown back into her face and even maybe lead to her death. For these reasons she kept her attack going although she took no pleasure in what was happening.

Slowly Peter's hand began to travel down to the middle part of his waist. The symbiote covering this part of his body dispersed and a small metallic like appeared. There was no clear indication of what it was but as soon as he pressed down on a button near the centre he disappeared in a flash.

Spider-Woman was blinded for a moment but when her vision did return she couldn't see Peter at all. At first she thought that he had run away and was waiting to strike again but her spider sense wasn't tingling. Wherever he was he was far away from her and it was a welcome relief.

With the battle now over the adrenaline had finally subsided and Spider-Woman could feel the pain of the fight. She would recover but for now she would be aching, this was a small price in comparison to what she could have lost. However she had lost something very dear to her, that was the chance of her trying to make up for what happened between herself and her own Peter Parker. The Peter that she had fought was a dark reflection of the boy she had known.

With nothing left for her in the bell tower Spider-Woman made her way towards her home and she made sure to remain high in the air so that it was difficult for her to be seen from the ground. Many thoughts were running through her head and all she wanted to do was to go home and lick her wounds. She was also going to call Liz when she got home to see if she was alright.

It only took a few minutes for her to return to her home but before she entered she took off her costume and once again became Gwen Stacy. There were a few bruises on her body but thankfully none were anywhere that could be seen. However she did return to a small shock, no sooner had she walked through the door she saw her father George standing with his arms crossed. She knew that she was in trouble and she smiled to try and show that she was sorry for what happened.

"Oh hi Daddy," said Gwen.

"Don't you hi daddy me," replied George. He wasn't shorting and his voice was uncomfortably calm. "I saw the news and why did I see you fighting against that superpowered brute?"

"Well people were in danger and I was the only one who could have done something to stop him."

"You broke your promise Gwendolyn and for that you're grounded."

"Grounded?" She couldn't believe that she was actually being grounded. "I'm like eighteen years old you can't ground me."

"As long as you live under my roof you live by my rules. Now get upstairs and the next time you think about break a promise to me, don't."

Gwen wanted to argue but she could tell by the tone of his voice that he wasn't in the mood for this. She just gave a sigh and made her way up to her room, she did feel guilty about breaking her promise but she knew that under the circumstances she had no other choice. For this reason she knew that she was in the right but still went along with what her father said. She had to respect him whether she wanted to or not.

After a short while in her room Gwen finally decided to call Liz to see if she was alright. She knew that what Liz saw that day would most likely be traumatic as normal people wouldn't have to see anything like that. She just hoped that Liz wanted to remain friends after such an experience.

Carefully Gwen took out her phone and scrolled down her contacts until she reached Liz. She took a sigh as she dialled the number and then placed the phone to her ear. She didn't have to wait long before she heard Liz's voice on the other end.

"Hello," said Liz.

"Hi Liz its Gwen," replied Gwen. She knew that Liz had caller ID but she went along this line anyway. "We need to talk about today."

"Gwen thank god that you're still alive." There seemed to be genuine happiness in her voice. "I was worried that something terrible had happened to you. I hate to sound like something from a fairy tale but I was afraid that you were going to get eaten. You don't know how happy I am to hear that you're alright."

"Thanks for your concern and I was just wondering if you were alright. I know how stressful a situation like that can be."

"I'm fine, I did what you told me and that thing decided to go for you and not me. Why did it want you of all people?" Gwen could tell from her words that Liz didn't believe that this was Peter Parker but instead just some kind of monster.

"It's a long story and I promise to tell you one day but for now all you need to know is that we're both safe. I'll talk to you at some point in the future."

"Ok Gwen, thanks for letting me know that you're alright."

"You're welcome and thanks for today. Besides everything that happened I really had a nice time and I couldn't have pictured having it with anyone but you."

Gwen and Liz spoke for a few more minutes before they ended the call. Gwen was happy that Liz was still positive despite everything that had happened. She felt lucky to have a friend like her and the last thing she wanted to do was lose her.

Not too long after the call Gwen decided to go to sleep. It was getting late and after everything that she had been through she needed some sleep. Her body was aching and she was still feeling unwell so she thought that a good rest would do her body some good. However her mind wouldn't shut down as she kept thinking about Peter and the monster that he had become. She felt that she could have done something to save him but instead she had showed him no mercy.

After a couple of hours she was still awake but suddenly a sharp pain shot through her body. It was brief at first but within moments she felt the pain again and it was enough for her to sit up from her bed. She didn't scream out in pain as she didn't want to wake up her father but the pain she felt was immense. She gritted her teeth in an attempt to null out the pain but it was no use.

The pain that Gwen was feeling began to centre on her sides and it felt like something was underneath her skin and was trying to burst out. She continued to try and dull the pain but the next thing she felt was one more rush of pain and then she heard her clothes ripping. After that the pain subsided and she began to take some deep breaths. It had definitely been one of the most unpleasant experiences in her life and she was just glad that it was over. She didn't think that anything worse could happen but that all changed when she went to look at her hands. Rather than seeing the two hands that she was used to she saw an extra hand in front of face.

Gwen could only stare at her extra hand but as she looked she saw something that was just as surprising. That was another hand bringing the total up to four. She had no idea what was going on but she noticed another pair of hands not far from her face and she realised that somehow she had six hands.

Without really thinking Gwen got out of bed and switched on her light before looking at herself in a large mirror in her room. Much to her horror she could see four additional arms located beneath her shoulders. The arms had suddenly grown out of her body and thus there were huge holes in her night clothing thanks to this.

Gwen couldn't believe what she was seeing as she now had six full functioning and normal looking arms. This was something that she couldn't have expected and with everything that had happened the young woman could only scream in horror.

The End


End file.
